More than halfway into 2024, it seems like some of the brightest marketing and branding ideas are the counterintuitive ones.
This style leans into irony and humor, but it’s much different than embracing a meme or hopping on a viral trend. All the recent examples cleverly subvert expectations about what traditional advertising and branding need to look like in order to be taken seriously (and to work seriously well).
Often, that means a final product that is less polished than its peers – but is several notches bolder, more creative, and even more successful. Here are a few examples that nail it:
The album release of ‘BRAT’ by Charli xcx.
We have to start with what’s likely the biggest and best example of a counterintuitive branding idea this year: the album artwork and workups for the album ‘BRAT’ by Charli xcx.
‘BRAT’ is a critically acclaimed album, but the unfamiliar eye may not know that from the cover alone. The artwork consists of just the title in all lowercase set against a visually offensive shade of green. By rejecting the artsiness that’s expected of album covers, its toxic green hue oozes confidence.
“Brat green” – as it’s been dubbed – is not pretty. But it launched Charli xcx into mainstream popularity. Its recognition value spawned a mega viral trend and turned a great album into a cultural moment and aspirational lifestyle. (It’s a brat summer, if you haven’t heard).
Visit Oslo.
An ad from the tourism department Visit Oslo went viral shortly after the release of ‘BRAT’. And it even had a similar approach.
The TV spot, titled “Is it even a city?”, follows an Oslo native around his hometown as he describes positive attributes about the capital of Norway – but in a hilariously disappointed, unimpressed way. He says that Oslo is “too available.” For example, he can be seated at restaurants right away and he doesn’t have to wait in line at museums for hours.
The idea came from Visit Oslo’s marketing director Anne-Signe Fagereng and was created with Oslo-based agency NewsLab and its director, August Jorfald. They told tourism publication Afar that the ad was inspired by the dry wit that’s popular in Norwegian television.
It ingeniously builds Oslo up by cleverly criticizing it, the definition of a counterintuitive approach. At the same time, it represents the humor of the people who live there. You know exactly what you’ll get in terms of cultural attractions and the personality of the culture.
Trent Miller real estate.
If you’re using TikTok to sell homes, you’re probably going to post property tours. If you’re teenage real estate agent Trent Miller, you take everything about traditional property tours and do the exact opposite.
Trent is internet famous for his high-energy Speed Tours, where he takes his audience around a home at breakneck speed while pointing out obvious features with unique and intense mannerisms. “THIS IS THE GARAGE,” for example, is probably his most-quoted catchphrase.
The majority of Speed Tours reach millions of engagements, and the views are often significantly higher than the massively successful engagement. So we can probably assume that his audience isn’t hooked by the format just once. They’re rewatching (and rewatching and rewatching).
A traditional property tour is easy to scroll past. But Trent (and his cameraman) made them easy to watch in a way none of their competitors were: by leaning into the absurdity of the platform. That’s what gives Speed Tours authenticity as well as humor.
(Speed Tour example: https://www.tiktok.com/@trent_miller__/video/7369256787360369963)
Looking for a bold campaign of your own? We’re your agency.
If this list sparked some inspiration for your campaign or product launch, we want to hear all about it. Idea Kraft is a boutique branding and marketing agency serving clients in New York State and beyond.
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