By: Graham Shafer
By now, we’ve all heard that humans now have attention spans that are (roughly) on par with that of the humble goldfish. Couple that with how our phones are designed to be addicting and it’s no wonder that the advertising industry has had to adapt to how our brains intake and process information. Thus, to capture our attention, came the advent of what’s been coined “unhinged marketing.”
Unhinged marketing is content that thumbs its nose at traditional advertising constructs, best practices and “rules.” While much of it tends to primarily target Gen Z, this subversive content has grown in popularity in recent years and has (ironically) become more mainstream. It can cover the gamut of everything from the downright disturbing, like this ad for Little Baby’s ice cream, to the lovingly absurd, like Geico’s “unskippable” pre-roll campaign from 2015.
But what all these ads have in common is that they upend some convention of traditional advertising wisdom. And in doing so, they’re bold and engaging, and have the potential for virality. Oftentimes this is because they tap into some aspect of the cultural zeitgeist, which, as we know, is morphing and evolving faster than ever before these days.
And this is why social media are the preferred platforms for unhinged content, where responsive, unpolished content is king. Take, for instance, how Wendy’s used Twitter to start punching up at its rival McDonald’s. By deciding to stop “playing nice,” the brand was able to create a ton of organic content that reached a wide audience, all while costing a fraction of what a traditional ad campaign would have.
Then there’s Duolingo, which handed the reins of its TikTok account to a social media intern, who quickly made the handle go viral. This was accomplished by tapping into TikTok trends at a breakneck pace, which was achievable because the intern was given the freedom to post without having to jump through the hoops of getting everything cleared by “corporate” first.
Another great example of effective leverage of the unhinged is the rapid ascension of Liquid Death as one of the strongest brands out there. Right out of the gate, they established their irreverent brand personality with the tagline “murder your thirst” and then proceeded to breathe life into that tone with ads that boast intentionally modest production value and show absolutely no fear about how to reach their audience. This approach delivers an ROI that’s nearly impossible to achieve with traditional big-budget productions.
Clearly, unhinged content requires a level of bravery that isn’t right for every brand. But for those willing to take the guard rails off, be bold, and really go for it, unhinged content can arrest your audience’s attention and be a real touch-home-down-run.
