Back to anti-marketing with a vengeance!

OK... so anti-marketing is not everyone's cup of tea, but there have been a few requests for me to expand on this topic here. Honestly.

So, over the next few weeks, I will embark on a relatively modest project called the Z-A of anti-marketing. I thought I'd begin with Z because it was the hardest letter - zebras, zeitgeist and zombies not lending themselves to anti-marketing very easily. But, after much head-scratching, I thought of one and was up and running.

And as for starting in reverse - come on, this is anti-marketing. Where else do you expect me to start?

So, here it is - Z

The ZIZKOV TELEVISION TOWER (in Prague)

Let’s start with a really good one - the second ugliest building in the world. Yes, the second. That's official. Not the ugliest, but the second ugliest. The building is horrible. They know it. You know it. We all know it. Just look at the above pictures. It even has small, metallic, black babies crawling up and down its exterior for some unknown, disturbing reason.

So, why does this get into a Z-A? Well, because of the marketing. Clearly, previous positive traditional marketing of the place failed miserably. Saying it was a lovely place to visit did not work. So, what did the Czech team charged with the marketing of this edifice do? They resorted to clever anti-marketing. Not just reverse-psychology, but parody and humour on a risky scale. The poster at Prague International Airport says it all. Not only does it accept and then use the ugliness in a positive way, but then it throws in the 'second ugliest' comment. The reader is immediately left wondering where the ugliest building is.

It is a thought-provoking and slick piece of anti-marketing where the message is bold and honest.

Rule number one in all anti-marketing techniques: Embrace your weaknesses and then find a way of using them in a positive way!

Next up will be Y. Coming this way all too soon!

More on this sort of stuff can be found if you have a look here:

https://www.lulu.com/en/gb/shop/adrian-liley/the-anti-marketeers-handbook-directors-cut/paperback/product-166jzkq8.html