Genius or insanity? How about both.

If companies want to stand out above all others, they have to be bolder, brighter and wilder. They have to say goodbye to mundanity and embrace absurdity, because that’s what the world needs and the market wants.

Some companies have cracked the code and come up with phenomenal and fantastical campaigns that have generated impossible success – and, occasionally, slightly embarrassing ridicule. Here are 6 examples of bizarre marketing campaigns that will amaze and inspire you:

PURPLE: “THE PURPLE BOYS”

Instead of working on a regular, straightforward ad for its mattress technology, Purple decided to have some fun. They snagged the comedic duo of Tim and Eric to host an absurd, hilarious web series called “Purple Boys” on Facebook. In each episode of this series, this dynamic duo interviewed clownish fictional characters who were struggling to fall asleep, and end up getting proper rest on a Purple Mattress. For instance, in their second episode, a character named Joe Dunder battles with the “Sunday Scaries” – with the help of a Purple Mattress, of course. 

This campaign wasn’t just about comical storytelling, though. Relevant information about Purple Mattress information is cleverly and subtly woven into each episode and character. It’s safe to say that Purple’s learnt the secret to success: the balance between wild comedy and persuasive marketing.

NIVEA KIDS’ SUNSCREEN: THE POOPING SEAGULL:

Or as the Cannes Lion jury president called it: “The most stupid thing I think I’ve seen in my whole life.”

Stupid or not, nobody can deny that it made headlines. Here’s what happened: in 2016, Nivea partnered with a German ad agency, Jung von Matt/Eldy, to build a seagull drone with a digestive tract. This seagull was then sent to the beach where it swooped down on unsuspecting children and dramatically squirted (or, as several headlines during that time said, “pooped”) Nivea’s sunblock at them. And while this happened, agency employees hid themselves in the dunes to identify children who were the most exposed to the sun, a quest they cavalierly called “the hunt.”

Dronelife probably summarised this bizarre marketing stunt the best by their headline “Nivea Drone Bird Poops Sunscreen on Your Kids.” 

This is the best example of a campaign that was both genius and off-the-rockers insane. However, it’s quite clear that it garnered lots of attention and created a very memorable (to put it lightly) impression on viewers. Unfortunately, when it debuted at Cannes, it flew away with no awards.

SKITTLES: “BROADWAY THE RAINBOW”

If brands were awarded for their boldness, Skittles would probably get the gold medal. Instead of making a standard advertisement for the Super Bowl, they decided to go wild and create a full-fledged, never-seen-before musical called “Broadway the Rainbow”. What’s more, this marketing musical ended up mocking the marketing industry. Throughout the musical, their characters repeatedly sang about how advertisements destroyed their lives, how manipulative the industry was, and how they were living in one humongous Skittles commercial rather than true life.

USA Today called this, “The most inventive end run in the history of ambush advertising”, and it’s safe to say that it deserves first place. Despite the fact that Skittles charged $200 per ticket, their musical immediately sold out and went viral in mere days of its premiere.

PIZZA HUT: “EAU DE PIZZA HUT”, THE PIZZA PERFUME

In 2012, the Canadian arm of Pizza Hut decided to entertain itself by posting a question to its Facebook fan base: “Do you love the smell of a box of Pizza Hut pizza being opened?”

The post was flooded with responses, and just two months later, after their Facebook page reached 100,000 followers, Pizza Hut Canada decided to fulfil its promise. They created 100 samples of an actual pizza perfume named “Eau de Pizza Hut” and sent them to the first 100 people who messaged them on their account. The response for this was overwhelming, generating an explosion of good will and publicity. What’s more, their customers actually liked the fresh hot scent of the pizza perfume. 

What began as a fun, odd question soon transformed into a fun, odd campaign with phenomenal results.

POO-POURRI:

This doesn’t even need a description – the name says it all. Poo Pourri is a product that freshens bathrooms and was already selling fairly well in 2013. However, they wanted to expand their reach a bit, and came up with one of the most fantastically unhinged ads of all time. They posted a two-minute commercial YouTube featuring a prim, proper, pretty-as-a-picture actress who cracked some hilarious poop jokes in a posh English accent. This included lines like “You would not believe the motherload I just dropped”, among others in unabashedly crass humour. 

Believe it or not, this ad worked wonders. A plethora of new reviews were amazed at the fact that their product actually worked, and it can now be found on websites like Amazon and stores like Bed Bath & Beyond. What’s more, their video became so popular that it has more than 33 million views and till date has generated several other follow-up videos ever since.

Insane? Baffling? Successful? How about all three.

RED BULL STRATOS: THE SPACE JUMP

In a world of increasingly insane marketing, Red Bull reached new heights – superterrestrial sky-diving heights.

This exhilarating marketing campaign, launched in 2012, was fondly called Stratos and featured Felix Baumgartner, who partnered with Red Bull to set world records for the highest skydive. Their record was a whopping 128,000 feet, around 24 miles above the Earth’s surface. 

Felix Baumgartner was housed in a communication capsule and sent up using an enormous helium-filled balloon. Spoiler alert: the sky-dive was successful and he landed safely back to Earth, setting a brilliant new record. What’s more, Red Bull streamed the whole event and experienced breathtaking success: their live stream had the highest viewing traffic on YouTube at over 8 million views.

It’s like they say: take risks and be rewarded.

Some of these were successful, some of these were flops. Some were hailed as genius, others as the stupidest things their audiences had ever seen. Yet all of these campaigns had one thing that made them stand out above all others: boldness, creativity, and just a touch (or more than a touch) or absurdity.