Blunt Marketing Muck Ups!

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Marketing departments are notorious for believing they have the intellectual edge over sales, especially retail, but truthfully, they often lack the practical smarts of a store detective!

Perhaps some time spent in the real world, rather than a boardroom, might be prudent.

Here are three classic examples I hope will tickle you pink if you’re in sales, if only from the point of view that we (salespeople) all were expected to sell the crap to the public.

So please enjoy.

First may I present ‘The Polar Fox Millitary Desert Combat Ankle Boot’

Sounds cool, and from the look of them on Amazon, should have been a good seller.

Except for one minor detail!

‘Die Stiefel treten’ or ‘The Boots Tread’

Whatever you do, don’t mention the war!

Conal International Trading Co, which manufactures the Polar Fox boot, said it was “no way intentional” and an “obvious mistake” made by manufacturers in China.

The following memo was received at head office from the staff at the Beijing factory;

“Oh Herro Amelicans,

Prease accept velly solly fom us.

Som ting wong here!

Solly!”

Who said Orientals don’t enjoy our sense of humour?

The boot is “heily recommended” here at Blunt Coach, and we’ve rated them a “nein out of ten”.

Next;

How about another touch of racism, from good old Nivea;

Nivea pulled a “White Is Purity” deodorant ad after critics blasted the German skin care company for promoting white supremacy.

The ad appeared on Facebook and was aimed at the company’s customers in the Middle East, so thank fuck they had nothing to do with the ‘Polar Fox Desert Boots’.

The spot pitching Nivea’s “Invisible for Black and White”, showed the woman above.

The Facebook post ran the caption: “Keep it clean, keep it bright. Don’t let anything ruin it.”

Nivea responded with;

“That image was inappropriate and not reflective of our values as a company. We deeply apologize for that and have removed the post,”

But Nivea had already been in trouble in 2011, when the brand pulled the ad below, that showed a black man tossing a dummy head with an Afro hairstyle, with the line “Re-Civilize Yourself.”

Next

Here’s something ladies around the world have been told is ‘good for their skin’, but its perhaps not what the water giant Dasani had in mind.

Dasani is owned by Coca Cola no less, so you’d have thought their marketing people would have been up to speed with UK customers.

Still, I bet women worldwide couldn’t wait to get healthy skin, stay hydrated, and fashionable, because we all know women;

‘Spunk’ was of course, to symbolize youth and energy in the US, but it has a completely different meaning in the UK!

Launched in the UK in 2003, with the tagline ‘Bottled Spunk’, you have to wonder what the fuck Coca Cola were thinking, since anyone who’s spent a month in the UK would know the score.

Evidently the ‘insatiable’ Americans below, can’t live without……..drum roll…

Being drenched in Spunk!

Hope that gave you a grin.

Be well,

Blunt Coach Andy

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