TheMattWalker.com

Personal Website of Creative Strategist Matthew Walker

Why This Kenny Powers K Swiss Commercial Is So Amazing Marketing Wise

By Matt Walker | July 13, 2011 | 0 Comment

If you are a fan of Kenny Powers or if maybe you have never even heard of him, this is really funny. It’s offensive, it’s ridiculous, it’s over the top, but I haven’t showed this to one person yet who didn’t laugh (obviously it’s language isn’t for everyone).

What makes it absolutely amazing is that this isn’t a joke video. This isn’t a Funny or Die spoof. This is an honest to goodness commercial. They might mask it by using the term “viral video” or something like that, but it’s a commercial. A major company made an offensive, curse laden and celebrity filled commercial. I can’t believe it’s true. In this day on age where everything is so vanilla and watered down and everyone is so over the top sensitive about everything, a company had the courage to make a video that could potentially really damage their public image. They took a chance on using Powers character from the start, and amazingly enough no seems to be complaining very loudly. There were Kenny Powers’s ads on ESPN.com hawking shoes.

I would have loved to be in the room where this concept was even pitched. How did it get by? In the companies I have worked for the lawyers probably wouldn’t even let you talk like this in the meeting room, let along run a commercial about it? Also, how did the executives pitch this idea to the athletes? How are the leagues the athletes play in letting them being apart of this?

As a create person, I just applaud anyone and everyone for being able to put this together. It took an amazing amount of cajones, trust and faith that this wouldn’t be a total disaster. I have no doubt it will explode on the internet in time and maybe rival the monkey scratching his butt, smelling it and falling of the tree branch video, it’s that good.

So sit back, enjoy and hope. Hope that the age of viral marketing brings honest to goodness creativity back into mainstream marketing. Hope that eventually the Hollywood’s of the world and the Record industry starts embracing risky and edgy as opposed to safe and insultingly moronic creative work. Kenny Powers… thank you. You sir, are America!

0 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.