The Wrong Buzz

Unfortunately, we have another entry for our “bad copywriting” thread. This one is from Virgin Mobile and McKinney + Silver, Durham, NC (thanks to Tim Nunn of AdFreak).

The issue here, of course, is knowing your audience. Best not to pander to the people of Bedford Stuyvesant. This ad is so off-the-mark that we have to quote it in it’s entirety as a cautionary tale:

When people close their eyes and think of Brooklyn, your legendary brownstones come to mind. That’s because everyone from rappers to directors have used you as the backdrop for stories about life in the neighborhood that has everything. Do or Die is more than a moniker. It speaks to the fact that you don’t take crap from anyone. Especially newcomers who want to change Bed-Stuy into some sort of yuppie strip mall. With us you only make changes if you want. That’s the beauty of our cell phone plans without annual contracts. Because Bed-Stuy, we know you call your own shots.

Oh boy. The ad was picked up in Brownstone, a blogsite that bills itself as “Brooklyn Inside & Out.” Their post has generated over 100 comments since May 30. Here are a few:

I’m going to throw up.

That’s all the neighborhood needs, corporate sponsors to exacerbate racial and class tensions. What 15-year-old thought up this ad campaign? I bet you anything they’ve never even set foot in Bed-Stuy.

Posted by: sylvia at May 30, 2007 10:38 AM

I love the smell of corporate paternalism in the morning…Thanks Virgin Mobile for keeping it real

Posted by: anon at May 30, 2007 10:39 AM

Really weird– most of Virgin’s marketing is pitch-perfect and clever. This is really bad. (New agency, maybe?) Nothing worse in advertising/PR than a campaign that tries too hard to be hip, down-with-the-kids, in-sync with a neighborhood.

Posted by: bob999 at May 30, 2007 10:47 AM

What’s a yuppie strip mall? Isn’t that where you go to buy a Virgin Phone?

Posted by: Anonymous at May 30, 2007 10:48 AM

It’s also generated a few viscious parodies. All the comments here.

I suspect we could all do a better job of knowing our audience. McKinney is just getting the smack-down cause it was Bed Stuy.

The wrong buzz - this ad illustrates how powerful advertising is in our culture. Because you’re either generating good buzz, bad buzz or no buzz at all.