What Are You Actually Promoting?
PlayStation felt like they didn’t need to answer this question with their insane run of ads, mostly in the 90s and early 2000s, which are still talked about today. They made you feel uncomfortable, gross, but oh-so-intrigued. If you didn’t know what PlayStation was, you sure as hell were morbidly curious about it when the title appeared at the end of their “Double Life” ad. A commercial with regular folks who turn into wild adventurers and violent fighters at night, with visuals straight out of a Fincher or Lynch film. PlayStation didn’t want snappy ad copy, they wanted Cult Classic. Grungy. Indie Film. Everything you learned in marketing101: Out the window. Hello brand identity.
The ad didn’t tell you to buy a PlayStation, it told you all the back alley tweaked-out chaos people did when they got home from work. Some of the people in the ad may not have even owned a PlayStation, they might actually just be violent people, you wouldn’t know. They tell you the games are violent. Good! Just how we like it. We like coming home from work and laying siege to enemy empires, shooting up combatants trying to capture our objective, running around the city stealing cars, robbing stores, and causing mayhem. Should you feel bad about it? These folks sure don’t. Playstation is an outlet for those parts of you. Playstation is Fight Club.
Playstation makes you see the world through a new lens, it changes you. You can’t really talk about it, because those outside just wouldn’t get it. And right there, my friends, is the hook. Once your brand is a club, once it’s “not for everyone” it becomes essential. The “Double Life” commercial will completely turn people off. Thank God! It’s not for them anyways.
Did you know that there are zero products in the world that have universal market fit? So instead of acting like your product can be, tell the people who it’s not for that they shouldn’t have it. Then, turn around and tell your customers that they are the only people who really get it. They are the one-percenters. The exclusive crop of minds who resonate with you. Even though their parents, friends, teachers don’t. You don’t want “Organic Word of Mouth”, you want “You Wouldn’t Get It.” You don’t want influencers, you want skate punks with cracked iphone 8s. Go out and alienate people today and see how much stronger your brand is because of it.