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Delightfully Weird: 7 Best Absurdist Marketing Campaigns

Published on Jan 14, 2025

Delightfully Weird: 7 Best Absurdist Marketing Campaigns
Louise Downing
Louise Downing studioID

If recent years have taught us anything, it’s to expect the unexpected. The world has turned upside down, with political strife, war, and the lingering impact of COVID-19 triggering economic instability, uncertainty, and soaring costs of living. Instead of looking forward to a strong, stable economy, the younger generations are inheriting an uncertain future. 

Is it any wonder then, that Gen-Z and Millennials need an antidote to the topsy-turvy world?

With three in 10 Gen-Z’s and millennials feeling financially insecure and six in 10 plagued with worry and anxiety about issues like climate change, young people are lusting after a bit of relief from the dreariness of daily column inches. Brands that recognize this are doing well.  Here’s a look at 7 of the absurdist best brand campaigns that offer people an honest, unfiltered view of the craziness of daily life.

#1 Andrex: Get Comfortable

Campaign Overview

When it comes to attention-grabbing visuals and headlines, toilet humor rarely disappoints, whether it delights or disgusts. In a bold move away from cute puppy adverts, the renowned toilet paper brand sought to cut-though poo taboo and liberate the shy British public from the crippling awkwardness of relieving themselves anywhere outside their own bathrooms.

The First Office Poo,’ opened with a reverberating fart and concluded with a walk of empowerment, marking the launch of the Andrex ‘Get Comfortable’ platform. Based on brand research that found nearly half of Brits are too scared to poo in the office and 23 million people won’t poo in public, the platform cleverly taps into the universal cringe of toilet embarrassment, turning awkward – but relatable – moments into attention-grabbing moments. Think images of people sitting on toilets with nifty one-liners such as ‘Live Unclenched.’

Why It Stands Out

Behind the humor of the #GetComfortable campaign is a serious message about the importance of bowel health. Andrex partnered with Bowel Cancer UK to encourage Brits to prioritize their bowel health and break the stigma surrounding it. By using humor and relatable scenarios based on Andrex’s own research, the campaign captures attention and successfully sparks conversations that could save lives. 

The campaign was played out across digital and OOH channels, including billboards, newspaper ads, and on the side of vehicles. The result? An increase of £3.2 million in retail sales, 1,694% in social mentions, and a 122% uplift in public searches for the signs of bowel cancer.

#2 Liquid Death: Corpse Paint

Campaign Overview

The packaged water company is known for breaking the rules and pushing boundaries with its rebellious and edgy content that uses shock, horror, and humor to entertain fans. Its partnership with e.l.f Cosmetics, which saw a make-up brand team up with a canned water company, is an unlikely pairing but its absurdity is exactly what made it stand out.

As part of the campaign, the brands joined forces to deliver a coffin-shaped makeup set that sold out in less than an hour. To advertise their collaboration, the brands released an online commercial and ran a paid partnership with Julia Fox, who turned heads by roaming the streets of New York donned in corpse paint.

Why It Stands Out

Liquid Death consistently prioritizes personality over product, showing us that it’s not always what you sell, but how you sell it. Rather than playing it safe, the brand pushes boundaries in an unapologetic approach to marketing that doesn’t aim to please everyone but instead resonates deeply with its customers and fans.

What was particularly smart about the Corpse Paint campaign was the timing of its release. Rather than waiting until Halloween – when you’d expect to see content about corpses – the brand instead launched the campaign in March. The result? It didn’t get lost amidst a flurry of other Halloween-related content. It got seriously noticed.

#3 Currys: Beyond Techspectations

Campaign Overview

The British electronics brand has become an unlikely TikTok star with its wacky videos and jokes that quickly go viral. We’re talking off-the-wall comedy clips like a horse kicking a chicken, why the duck went to Currys, and an employee rolling around on the floor eating curry. These bonkers clips are part of Currys wider ‘Beyond Techspectations’ campaign that uses weirdness and humor to provide viewers with a bit of light relief.

Beyond TikTok, Currys shares brand films on TV, online, and other social media platforms including YouTube and Facebook. Throughout its content is the underlying message that the brand always goes the extra mile to deliver the best products and services for its customers, without taking itself too seriously. If you’re wondering how a horse kicking a chicken is relevant to the brand, well the horse kicked the chicken into the Ninja Double Stack XL air-fryer. The video racked up 3.7 million views and a whopping 269K likes.

Why It Stands Out

At the heart of Currys content are its employees, often featured in lighthearted and amusing moments that bring a human touch to the brand. These relatable portrayals show customers that the staff is ‘one of them’ while also clearly demonstrating their knowledge and expertise. The content is approachable and humorous, while at the same time reinforcing the brand’s core message that it’s committed to delivering the best for its customers. By integrating products into real-life scenarios, often with a playful twist, these videos not only entertain but also effectively highlight the brand’s commitment to customer satisfaction.

#4 Heinz: The Last Drop

Campaign Overview

How far would you go to salvage your last drop of ketchup? Heinz put this to the test with its ‘The Last Drop’ campaign that showed people doing crazy things just to save their last drop of sauce. Played out across OOH, social media, digital channels, and print, the campaign showed people licking their steering wheel, awkwardly reaching for their elbow, and even licking their baby’s face, just to avoid wasting their favorite sauce.

Created in just five days, the campaign is part of the brand’s ‘It has to be Heinz’ global platform that was launched following consumer insights that customers will go the extra mile for their favorite Heinz products.

Why It Stands Out

‘The Last Drop’ campaign celebrates the almost irrational love people have for Heinz Ketchup. Inspired by a social media video of a mum licking a blob of ketchup off her baby to avoid wasting it, the campaign is a testament to Heinz’s ability to listen and learn from its customers and quickly turn around marketing campaigns that resonate. Delivered as a series of print ads, the bold and crisp visuals do all the talking, with minimum words and tempting images that make anyone crave a burger and chips with a blob of the good stuff.

#5 Pedigree: Tail Orchestra

Campaign Overview

A dog’s tail is often used by pet owners to measure their mood. The faster they wag their tails, the happier they are. So what if you put a pup center stage, tempted them with tasty treats, and then used the speed of their tails to conduct a live orchestra? This is exactly what Pedigree, the pet food company, did. 

‘Tail Orchestra’ was a stroke of marketing genius that put the brand’s ultimate customers – the pets – on stage, to give feedback on what they really think about Pedigree’s grub. Quite literally, dogs were put in the conducting seat, incentivized to wag their tails with a range of treats and objects, and a live orchestra played along behind.

Why It Stands Out

There’s no better brand advocate than its customers. But when you’re selling food for pets, how can you convince owners that their treasured furry friends really do love the food you sell? ‘Tail Orchestra’ tugged at the heartstrings of pet owners everywhere with its universally adorable depiction of dogs expressing their joy. The brand went on to release a music album on Spotify, comprising 10 tracks conducted by dogs.

#6 Specsavers: ‘Should’ve Gone to Specsavers’

Campaign Overview

The ‘Should’ve Gone to Specsavers’ slogan has been going strong for two decades but the brand continues to find innovative new ways to deliver the same message. In March, the brand parked a Specsavers van over automatic bollards on a street in central Edinburgh and lifted it halved into the air. Next to the van was a sign cautioning drivers not to park there and on the back of the vehicle it said ‘Book an eye test today.’ The OOH stunt is another play on the brand’s campaign that aims to highlight situations that may not have happened if people were wearing the right glasses or contact lens subscription.

Why It Stands Out

The bollard stunt is a great example of simple, cost-effective marketing that pokes fun at everyday mishaps. In an engaging alchemy of confusion and humor, the stunt quickly attracted the attention of passers-by, with onlookers sharing photos and videos across the internet, scratching their heads as to whether the event was deliberate or not. The reach of the marketing ploy extended widely beyond the internet, making local and national headliness everywhere.

#7 Nutter Butter: Aidan and Nadia

Campaign Overview

The cookie brand has gone nuts on the internet in recent months, leaving viewers half-smiling, half scratching their heads as to what the brand is all about. Nutter Butter’s TikTok account went viral for being completely unhinged. It started on September 13th 2024, when TikTok user Cassie Fitzwater posted a video about the brand’s official account, that describes how the company’s posts were freaking her out. Viewed more than 2.9 million times, the video warned users not to visit Nutter Butter’s page for fear of having nightmares.

What followed was a stream of bizarre, psychedelic, and surreal posts that made users wonder if the account had actually been hacked. The brand even created characters called Aidan and Nadia, who appear in creepy and mysterious posts. The result is a campaign that has gone viral and got everyone talking. In just a few weeks, Nutter Butter’s TikTok following more than doubled. Beyond TikTok, Nutter Butter’s posts on other platforms were equally weird, with it simply sharing the word ‘Help’ several times on X.

Why It Stands Out

In a fast-moving digital world rife with snappy content and shrinking attention spans, brand campaigns need to be bold to get noticed. And whether it floats your boat or not, there’s no denying that Nutter Butter’s scandalously strange content grabbed plenty of attention for being completely off-the-wall. More than getting noticed, the brand continues to spark widespread conversation about where it’s going with its outlandish posts. Is there a narrative behind the posts, are there codes and hidden messages that need to be deciphered? Whether positive or negative, content that evokes a strong emotion is much more likely to get tongues wagging and that’s exactly what Nutter Butter achieved with its non-traditional advertising approach.

Seize early opportunities. Ditch defunct approaches. Boldly go into 2025 with a content marketing strategy tuned to the latest expert-led forecasts at our on-demand webinar.

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