"Drama assumes an order. If only so that it might have -- by disrupting that order -- a way of surprising."

- Vaclav Havel

You’ve seen him. He wears a headset. And, you’re probably among the not-so-few who have mocked him. You’ve heard of the product called ShamWow! Yes? Or the SlapChop? If not, you can join the half a million people who have voluntarily viewed infomercials for these two products on YouTube and familiarize yourself with them and their owner, Vince Offer, who, as we speak, is being transformed into a very powerful brand.

In one month, his infomercials have attracted over half a million pairs of eyeballs. That’s right. One of those product pitches like the ones that have peddled perpetually sharp kitchen knives, spray-on hair and oxygen cleansers.

Well, up until recently, Offer was just another annoying pitch guy whose advertisements show up all over cable TV. But now, thanks to a little thing we like to call social media (a.k.a. blogs and shareable videos), the peppy pitchmeister has caught on like a virus. Today, more and more people are buying ShamWow! and SlapChop for reasons that go far beyond a compelling two-and-a-half-minute “But wait! There’s more!” demonstration. And the explanation can be summed up in a word—folklore.

In a nutshell, before Offer started pitching kitchen and cleaning products, he was (and still is) an aspiring filmmaker who made his first infomercial to sell a movie that was so against his chosen “religion” that it got him ostracized from the church. Church of Scientology, that is. Yes. He had given it all up to Scientology. And all it took was one movie filled with inappropriate content to have him unfairly prosecuted in a church court. The story is entertaining, sad, appalling, strange and almost unbelievable. But true, nonetheless.

Needless to say, Vince is currently using all his proceeds from the sale of ShamWow, SlapChop and the movie Underground Comedy to take on Scientology. And his list of supporters is growing exponentially.

No, this is not a lesson in “Vendetta Marketing” or Taking Down The Man. It is, however, a very fresh, post-modern example of how marketing works. The power of authenticity and social media are beyond measure in their ability to fish out a small group of advocates that will hi-jack a brand and propel it forward. The important thing to point out, which this particular scenario is rife with, is the amount of tension in the “brand story.” Which isn’t a story about a better product. But rather, a story about a guy standing for something bigger than himself or his products. Which is something people can get behind.

A product that simply works isn’t near as appealing as a comparable one that comes with a little drama on the side.

 

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