6 brands that instil fun, passion and spirit into their communications

Why does business need to be so drab and lifeless?

Boring, overly-polished, by-the-numbers advertisements that cost the earth but fail to have any meaningful cut-through; press releases, annual reports and websites that look like they’ve been overhauled by lawyers, every word polished and spin-dried to within an inch of their life, jam-packed with nonsensical corporate jargon and psychobabble.

Why bother? No one is reading your stuff or listening to your drone. YOU ARE WASTING YOUR TIME!

Here are six growing brands that show that having a bit of fun humanizes (and enhances) their marketing efforts and indeed, endears them to the buying public.

1. Recycled products brand Haul has as its ambassador a loveable mutt called Gus the Boxer (who also writes a blog, has a solid following on Twitter and Facebook, as well as stars in his own calendar)!

2. Magazine retailer mag nation staged a month-long promotion (‘Undies Monday’) where people who came in to the shop on a Monday wearing nothing but their underwear were given product up to the value of $50.

3. Not-for-profit movement Movember raises millions of dollars for men’s health by getting men the world over to make dorks of themselves by growing a moustache for November.

4. Montana First Credit Union makes a virtue out of being “sensible, safe and dull” via its Boringissexy.com online campaign.

5. Sally Hogshead taunts visitors to her website: “A hogshead is a barrel that holds 62 gallons. So what’s your name, smart ass?” (for more on Sally, click here)

And just in case you thought only small companies can have fun, at the big end of town…

6. Southwest Airlines’ CEO Gary Kelly uses his blog to crowdsource ideas as to whom he will dress up as come Halloween.

(Caroline McCarthy from CNET wrote of Kelly’s annual Halloween poll: “It’s certainly a quirky and humanizing move for the airline, which is one of only a few U.S. carriers that’s not mired in economic woes.”)

If a major-league CEO like Kelly can dress up as Gene Simmons of KISS for a bit of Halloween hijinks, then surely your brand can lighten up a bit too?

So remember, take a bit of a risk, don’t take yourself so seriously…oh, and have some fun!

Your customers will thank you for it. So too will your staff!

What can you do today to inject some life and personality into your brand?

PIC SOURCES (from top):

Nuts About Southwest blog

Gus the Boxer Facebook Page (via Dogs Life Magazine shoot)

Official Movember Flickr Gallery

Mag Nation blog