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3 reasons why the Pimp My Kettle will FAIL.

1. Social Networking around a false hobby
Where the hell is the consumer insight in this one? When have people ever tried to Pimp their kettle. We already have a social networking site, it is called Facebook, why do we want another? People created Nings around social objects/niche passions people have(no one loves pimping kettles)

2. Fake people
Kill me now, this is reminiscent of Skip Harder, why don’t you do a bit of research find someone who actually does do this and use them as your poster boy, Instead of trying to pull the wool over your dumb target markets eyes(I am in this market and find it offensive)

3. Google Pimp My Kettle
Where is your site? Do you think everyone is going to remember and type your site URL straight in. Who the hell launches a site and does not even get the SEO.

Why am I laying into this campaign so hard?
Because it is these sorts of campaigns that wreck the name of Social Media Marketing for the people who actually know what they are doing.

Here is some advice;
Clemenger BBDO get someone in who knows what they are doing, or stick to above the line! It is good to see your creatives are stealing their ideas straight from Youtube too.

This clip was produced a year before the Fanatastic Noodles campaign

Fanatastic Noodles when Clemenger tell you they have had success with the social networking side of things. Have a look at who has joined, all the profiles (there is only 49 at last count) are from Adelaide, is this any coincidence that this campaign came out of Clemenger Adelaide?

Bloggers call out these rubbish campaigns because if we don’t they will just tarnish the reputation of Social Media Marketing.

I am not alone here either;
Matt's(Zakazukhazoo) interpretation of this rubbish
Zac thinks PimpMyKettle is wrecking his future as well

This comment by Tait Ischia was in the comments section but it is so insightful I decided to publish it in the body of the post. Check out the comments section for the great discussions about this campaign.

I think the core issue is that the idea to incorporate social marketing into the media mix seems to have come from a need to reach the target rather than extend the idea. I can't really be bothered going into how terrible the site is; I just don't think it warrants any critical perspective. These things happen all the time - think recent Vegimite campaign.

What I found interesting though, is the giant lift-out I found in this month's Vice magazine. Vice got Ed Woodley from China Heights (and Oxford Art Factory) in Sydney to pimp a kettle for the campaign. It's fucking cool. Which means it could have been done well. It was actually a fairly OK idea. Although it was a 'rip-off', so was the Honda 'Cog' Ad. And everyone loved that. Some call it appropriation and others copying, but whatever people say, execution is the biggest difference between the two. And if the execution is done well, then ripping-off becomes referencing and everyone's happy.

Conclusion: Poorly executed campaign mixed with social media being chosen too late in the process. There are other things as well - just to name a few: A confused selection of media placement eg. poster in Vice, terrible use of irony in street posters, a mainstream look trying to target an underground populace, and not to mention a great list of (hopefully well-payed) artists that the vast majority of the mainstream gen-y audience will not give two shits about.

The big agencies don't really get it. Not to mention most creatives thinking they're cool and hip-to-the-scene but in fact being complete wannabee douche-bags. I have no problem in saying that because I see it all the time. Although I must say the guys at Publicis Mojo are the antithesis of that statement. A little less so after Toby & Serene left for Fallon a year ago. Sad, but as an industry we need more of those people.

I wholeheartedly agree we need more critical perspectives on campaigns like this so that others don't fuck-up social networking for the rest of us who are trying to do it properly.