It’s no secret that humor can contribute to making great marketing videos so I’m not going to expound on that now.
Instead, I thought I’d compare and contrast two marketing video approaches utilized by two different products that essentially do the same thing: neutralize the smell of your poop by spraying it in the toilet before you do #2.
Yes, it’s rude and crude…but true. So without further ado, let’s like look at two videos on poo (that sentence kind of rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?).
Video #1: Sneak A Poo “As seen on TV” commercial
Here we’ve got a typically cheesy infomercial approach. We see a super formulaic problem-solution set-up featuring a demonstration by a spokesperson along with a computer-generated piece to further show us how this product works. Sure, they’ve got some cheeky rhymes in the copy and “Sneak A Poo” is a fairly catchy name so I give them props for that at least.
When we look at their Youtube performance, it’s got a little over 35,000 views, which isn’t overly impressive considering that they’re likely spending plenty to generate awareness on late-night TV and this particular video was posted over a year ago. All in all, we’ve got a pedestrian, cookie-cutter spot with seemingly mediocre results.
Now, lets look at Video #2 for a product called Poo-Pourri
Quite a contrast, huh? The writing in this video is witty, funny and thoroughly entertaining from start to finish. Written and directed by Joel Ackerman (who’s collaborated with us at Gisteo on a couple of projects), Poo-Pourri has all you want in a marketing video: a clear and engaging presentation of the problem (embarrassingly smelly poo, especially in public places) as well as an excellent summary of the spray-before-you-go solution. Instead of a expensive CGI demo, they opt to have the actress simply show us some fairly straightforward diagrams while on the throne. Classic.
Also, the juxtaposition of the prim and proper British actress dishing out lines about “dropping loads,” “pinching loaves,” and “prairie-dogging” is utterly priceless.
Results? Well, first off, they’re got over 31,000,000 views on this video link alone which is a hell of lot more than the 35K we saw for Sneak A Poo and it has also generated “loads” of buzz and free press. According to Ackerman, Pou-Pourri has been shared over 1.3 million times, generated a 13,000% increase to website traffic, and tripled yearly revenue. Before the video, Poo-Pourri was a $10 million/year company; since creating YouTube ad, Poo-Pourri figures to do $30 million annually in sales. The brand hasn’t stopped there. It has created a number of follow-up videos such as this hilarious holiday-themed one titled “Even Santa Poops.”
So there you have it folks. A tale of two poos. Which would you choose? I thought so. Congratulations to Poo-Pourri for taking creative risks and embracing the power of humor in their marketing videos. Sneak A Poo, shame on you!
