Zigging When Everyone Zags

REMEMBER THESE ADS? (click through to see the YouTube video, if you're getting this via a feed) Hal Riney's campaign for Gallo's Bartles & Jaymes wine coolers was a huge hit and catapulted the brand to #1 in its category.
        The reason I bring this up (beyond giving you a quick laugh) is that there's a terrific object lesson about NOT doing what everyone else is doing.
        Hal Riney was brilliant. He understood how — well, I don't know if he understood how to break through the clutter. Do any of us know that, as if there's a scientific formula? No. But what Riney did quite successfully was to challenge the status quo and work to find a different way to reach and affect his audience.
        And his story, in this video excerpt, of how the Bartles & Jaymes campaign came to life is a message for all of us.
        It was the mid-80s and wine coolers were suddenly all the rage. According to Riney, 50 or so companies were climbing on the "Wine Cooler Bandwagon". Conventional wisdom held that the ads should feature music and lifestyle images of the young people to whom the product was targeted.
        But Riney felt that if all the other advertisers were taking that approach, how could Gallo's offering stand out and become the #1 product? His approach was to do the opposite of what people expected. So instead of bright, bouncy shots of twenty-somethings cavorting on a beach with a wine cooler in their hands, he put two geezers on a porch and let them ramble on in homespun fashion about their lives and their wine cooler.
        It was a big success and indeed helped Bartles & Jaymes wine coolers become the #1 wine cooler (which was Gallo's objective).

What does this mean for you?
Don't just go through the motions. If an opportunity arises that really matters, don't just trot out the same presentation you've used before — and don't limit yourself to what everyone else is doing (or has always done). Think about other ways you might get your message across, then have the conviction (or guts?) to use one of those approaches.
        Maybe that means you won't use PowerPoint. Or you'll wheel in some big prop. Or you'll change the venue. Or you'll hand out kazoos and have everyone hum the punch line.
        Riney broke out of the rut of convention, and so can you. It just takes being open to new ideas.
        Meanwhile, as Frank and Ed said, "Thank you for your support." I appreciate your continuing interest in The YouBlog. :-)

Comments

[Aaron@SmartDraw]

That commercial was great, and even though I've never had a wine cooler I kind of want one after seeing that commercial - it looked pretty good being poured on that ice.

The overall message is good but the issue is that does your company/client trust you enough to let you zig when everyone else zags? I think it might be a question of risk aversion in many cases.

[John Windsor]

". . . does your company/client trust you enough to let you zig when everyone else zags?"

Great observation, Aaron. Indeed, many people are content to follow the safe route and do what everyone else is doing. One way to respond to someone who is risk averse is to show them two paths -- the traditional and the (seemingly) risky. Then ask them if they're happy with the same old results (which is likely what the "safe" route offers).

I did a post about this long ago ("Ban 'Safe' Presentations" - link below) and it references a wonderful post by Kathy Sierra: "The Zone of Mediocrity".

http://youblog.typepad.com/the_youblog/2006/11/ban_safe_presen.html

Thanks for your comments, Aaron!