Being Creative with Marketing

This weekend, I watched comedian Bert Kreischer’s podcast with a guest appearance from fellow comedian Whitney Cummings. While there were many explicit topics during the podcast, one topic they discussed stood out to me: Whitney Cummings’s sex robot.

Most people, including myself, kind of shutter at the idea of a sex robot. It is a fairly taboo subject, and Cummings went into the robot factory feeling the same way.

“The first time I went down there, my reaction was like ‘oh shit,’ and it’s really hard to get an ‘oh shit’ out of anyone anymore. We’re all so numb and desensitized,” Cummings said. “You have to get people to give a shit first. It’s just so hard to get anyone to care about anything.”

Cummings had a sex robot made professionally of her as a main part for her new Netflix comedy special “Can I Touch It?” Though sex robots just started as an idea for a joke, it was a culture she immersed herself in that became the climax, no pun intended, of the special.

Despite the outlandish premise, I think this applies to fields across all industries. Ultimately, you have to give people a reason to care about your product. Kreischer and Cummings’s conversation soon became about their own feelings of self-worth and purpose in the entertainment industry.

“I literally was just trying to find something that I felt was interesting enough, because I don’t think I’m interesting enough,” Cummings said. “I’ve now hired someone to help me with Instagram because I’m so self-conscious about it.”

I think this quote really humanizes Cummings, someone that is so successful and praised for her work. It made me feel better about my personal brand, and that it is normal to not always feel like you know what is best for your brand.

“I want to put something at the end, if it’s a brilliant joke… something that is going to get people at the end of the special and make it worth an hour of their time. We have to earn people’s time now,” Cummings said.

I think this quote transcends both comedy and entertainment. If you can find one strong point or focus within your brand, it can help greatly in getting people to care. It is not easy to keep people’s attention anymore in the media climate we are in, so making something creative and memorable can go a long way.

I love that the premise of a sex robot resulted in a lesson about marketing and thinking outside the box. I love that there are lessons that can be learned from people doing even the silliest things.

What are some of your favorite marketing ads or campaigns that you have seen? Let me know!