DIY Cause Marketing Gone Horribly Wrong

Cause marketing is pervasive these days in part because the simplest transactional campaigns are so easy to understand and not too complicated to execute.

But there are times… plenty if you ask me because this is how I make my living... when companies shouldn’t be allowed to do their own cause marketing. For an example, look to the left.

If you conclude, as I do, that this is not a bad April Fool's Day joke, your mind automatically starts trying to draw connecting lines. My first reaction was that maybe the sub rosa meaning was that by using the product it would obviate the sexual drive and the children that often result when it’s not…um… obviated.

But, in fact, there is no such connection here, and that suggests that this campaign’s chances of success are limited. If I can coin a phrase, children are the ‘universal cause’ and it appears the promoters defaulted to it.

What would have been more fitting? The estimable author and nonprofit consultant Nedra Weinreich, who brought this to my attention, suggests Planned Parenthood, or an AIDs or STD charity. Good thinking.

For that matter, the promoters could have simply polled their customers and stakeholders and asked what they’d respond to.