In the Box and On the Fence

"It's easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to get permission" 

– Grace Hopper

We’ve all heard, and are likely tired of hearing about, “thinking outside the box” and “pushing the envelope”. These one-time buzz words are now the standard. Folks just think outside the box now. Very few people are still inside the box or folded neatly and tucked in the envelope. To be innovative now, it’s best to get back inside the box and see what can be done in there that hasn’t been done before. Outside the box and pushing the envelope used to mean something. Now, they’re just cliché.

Enter forgiveness and permission. Once we’ve made our way back into the box we find there are things to be done…but these things haven’t been done before because they seemed edgy and questionable. Now is the time to take that edge and slice up what’s questionable. In the box, the quest for new is on and we are all able. The problem is, everything that’s still in the box is in there because we were afraid to take it out. It could be an ugly monster with biting words and design, or it can be a frog-prince. What was once considered risqué is now tame. This means there’s even more in the boxes than we can bring out today. Maybe later.

So, where does this leave us? Well, sometimes it leaves us asking forgiveness. Several companies have launched ad campaigns, only to be on the receiving end of negative publicity. Below are two examples.

Sony, in anticipation of the launch of the new white PSP, launched a campaign pitting a white model versus a black model. Whether or not the campaign had intended racial overtones can be debated. At their simplest, the ads predictably use black and white. Will the newer, white PSP overtake the black one in sales? Fortunately, Sony was able to save face by pulling the ads and apologizing. Black versus white should probably stay in the box for a while longer.

Another advertising faux pas was committed by Spirit Airlines. In June of 2010 they launched a campaign promoting travel to Ft. Lauderdale, Cancun, and Puerto Rico touting the slogan “Check out the oil on our beaches”. The ads featured a bikini clad woman, drenched in spf50. Seeking to take advantage of the 2010 BP oil spill’s devastation of the north Florida coast, Spirit missed the mark. What could have been an interesting campaign, pitting beach against beach in a battle for tourism dollars, ended with the removal of the ads and a small base of angry potential customers.

There are plenty of cases where a great campaign came from what could have been a bad idea. Many of your favorite ads could have been sink or swim. A wrong first impression and even the most well thought work can be cast aside.

Are there any hits or misses that come to your mind? Let us know about them here, on our website, or on Facebook, or Twitter. We’d love to hear from you.