The Internet has made public many things once considered to be of a private and personal nature. The times have changed and we continue to push the limits, as companies attempt to break through the intense promotional clutter, creating visibility for their brands and engaging with customers in a very open and public way.
I have no real issue with any of this, more so a marketer’s curiosity as to whether the promotional tactics are appropriate to the brand strategies, as some of these promotions seem a little contrived — but then I’m not the target audience so I probably just don’t get it.
One such promotion is an online contest recently launched by Kimberly Clark for its Kotex brand, called “Project Make-Under.” The contest, which runs through September 12, asks women to write a brief (no pun intended) essay, of 250 words or less, on why their underwear has lost its luster.
Semi-finalists will be asked to submit a video online, for public viewing, and winners will receive a free makeover from celebrity George Kotsiopoulos and comedian Kathy Griffin.
“Our goal is to make sure we are speaking to women in an honest, straight-forward manner,” says Kotex brand director Aida Flick. “We’re not hiding behind euphemisms and we’re not embarrassed by our periods.”
I’m with Aida on that. But there’s a substantial difference between not being embarrassed and promoting it on the World Wide Web. Blasting out email releases through mass media news outlets somehow just doesn’t seem the same — maybe I’m a little old fashioned about these things, but I’m wondering if maybe there’s a more discreet and tactful way to get the brand message out to those concerned.
Which would not be me; I probably shouldn’t even be blogging about it.
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