Put America's "Awkward Addiction" To Work For Your Brand

For those of you who read Mike's Ad of the Week post about the Skittles Tube Sock ad, you'll remember how he said, "You're not really sure if they're brilliant or bad. And that's part of the charm." So true.

We've become culturally addicted to humor that makes us uncomfortable and genuinely undecided as to whether we should laugh. Shows like The Office (especially the BBC series) leave us unsure if we should laugh or cringe. Websites become cult hits by showing us images of awkward family photos that cause the same mixed reaction. Everywhere you turn, social codes are being pushed to the point of discomfort, and it's no surprise that brands are getting in on the action. The question is, why does a seemingly nonsensical idea like tube socks shocking tongues while shilling candy work so well?

Here are three really true reasons why awkwardly funny videos work so well in the new world of social marketing:

• The Hold. There's psychological data that proves that cognitive dissonance (i.e. not being able to decide if something is brilliant or crazy) causes a person to 'work' to store an item in the appropriate category. If they can identify it immediately, it falls quietly into the clutter. If they can't, they'll have to handle it, turn it around for a bit, shake it, ask others for input, then put it away. So if you want your brand fondled, make them work for it.

• The Pass. When people can't decide what they think about something, they talk about it more. And they ask other people what they think. Then, they generally divide into one of two camps on the issue and use their position to tell their friends more about who they are. Regardless of where they land on their opinion of you, your brand has become part of their composite social identity.

• The Lubricant. Everyone's heard the cocktail party analogy that we tell companies when teaching them to navigate social platforms. We tell them to step out from behind their hard-selling agendas and let down their hair. But everyone who's been to a cocktail party knows that there's no place where engagement is more awkward. In a boardroom, a common goal forces interaction. In our private spaces, intimacy is already established and rhythms are established. Put us in a room standing should-to-shoulder with people we know only superficially and without a fixed goal, and we start stammering and sweating in places we didn't know existed. There's a reason they serve liquor at those things. And yes social platforms offer the security of a monitor to hide behind, but if you've ever felt the twinge of anticipation or anxiety after sending something out there, you know that the social pressures are still very real.

All good hosts know that the best way to alleviate that tension (besides the afore mentioned liquor) is to provide spectacle. Give them something to look at and talk about. All really, really good hosts know that if the thing you offer pushes social boundaries, it immediately frees the the group from the pressure to adhere to them so strictly. In real life, I'm a big fan of showing up at such events with a box of wine as a gift for the host or flinging myself sacrificially into the pool, which is the real reason I wear flip-flops with formal attire. In this space, I'm a big fan of serving awkward humor videos.

I'd love to hear your thoughts. If you want to say something but feel weird about it, you should know I'm sitting here with mustard stains on my face.

Guest post by Jen Wright who lives and works awkwardly in this social space and frequently collaborates with Matthew Dibble