Since I’m writing this and I’m sorta lazy, this definitely isn’t about Nike or pushing yourself to your physical limits. It also has nothing to do with Shia LaBeouf, though I suppose there may be a common theme between that life-changing speech and what I’m talking about.
I’m talking about having the guts and spontaneity to go with a great idea. Here at Revel, a big part of my job (and everyone else’s) is to come up with ideas that get people to notice our clients, to help them stand out and get attention in their market. Standing out and being different is hard and sometimes scary and uncomfortable. I get it. I was one of the first kids in 6th grade to wear a pair of parachute pants. For you youngsters, these are parachute pants. They were awesome, and you can bring the trend back.
Back to the point, something great happened last week with one of our favorite clients, Saugatuck Brewing Company. They took a hilarious satirical jab at the world’s largest brewery, Anheuser-Busch InBev, for their announcement that they’ll be temporarily changing the name of Budweiser to “America” during the remainder of this year’s presidential election. I can think of three reasons right off the bat why this necessitates being made fun of on the internet.
- Changing your name to America is the ultimate in cockiness. Is that not trademarked?
- The beer is swill, and it makes me sad to have it represent my country.
- They are owned by a company in Brazil.
So over a few beers, the genius minds at SBC came up with their own announcement: ‘Murica.
“Fear not, America. We’re here to make beer named after America great again.
We’re very proud to introduce our brand new name and packaging, along with the assurance that all of our beer is brewed under the careful watch of 1,776 Bald Eagles. This ensures that every drop of our beer is as true and honest as our forefathers before us. Unlike other “America” beers, our brewery is completely American owned.
What does it taste like, you ask? Freedom. It tastes like Freedom.
Drink American, drink Saugatuck Brewing Company.” #MURICA
So what happened? Lots of people loved it. Some people didn’t get that it was a joke, lots of people thought it was real and wanted to order the beer. It’s the internet, so of course a few people tried to figure out a way to be offended by it.
What else? Having the guts to just do it, to go with an idea, even if it might rub a tiny majority the wrong way, garnered SBC thousands of likes, shares, and comments on their Facebook page, not to mention news segments on every single local news and radio station.
So the next time your marketing feels a little risky, weird, scary, or uncomfortable, that’s a sign that it’s headed in the right direction. Just do it. Put on those parachute pants and see what happens. You might just get noticed.
“Don’t let your dreams be dreams.”
-Shia LaBeouf
