Be Stupid

Anti-advertisments have become increasingly popular since the world has become saturated with advertisments. It is a technique that shows the consumer that "hey we know you're not stupid, we aren't going to try some dumb persuasion trick on you". The company takes the route of being straight up and honest, admitting that you(the consumer) know their tricks and aren't passive consumers.

Diesel's Be Stupid Campaign is taking Anti-Ads to a new level, check their new philosophy:



The Diesel brand has made an entire promotional effort in calling their shoppers stupid. Is that very smart of them? From a young age we're always taught to be smart, yet it seems Diesel is suggesting what is "cool" is to "be stupid". This slogan can have many repercussions. As they have already done on their campaign website, they are encouraging consumers to send in video's of them "being stupid". I watched a long clip of a man trying to fit into his computer tower. The encouragement of these videos I feel is their main downfall in the campaign. If these are their consumers in the videos then they should be embarassed (at least from the video I saw, I encourage you to check it out). I'm filled with mixed thoughts about this Be Stupid campaign. On one hand, it seems like a clever idea, why not target the stupid people as more people may feel stupid than smart and their slogan and visuals do it in a brilliant way. However, on the other hand it's flat out insulting to some. It's a very bold and risky approach but I think my overall opinion on it is that it's very convincing! It sparks the fun, outgoing and dangerous side of us.

What I will completely agree with is their advertisment slogan "Sex Sells, unfortunately we sell jeans". This is a great use a play on words with advertising techniques and again reiterates that they know their consumers aren't passive.



One fellow blogger I found ranted about how annoying these campaign ads are, as they are posted all over New York City buses not to mention she feels "the advertisements remind consumers that smart people plan their budget, while stupid people overpay for Italian jeans" (Rachel L. Arbeit). With that said what are your thoughts on these Be Stupid ads? Any Diesels fans out there offended or encouraged by the ads? I'm interested in your thoughts as I have a love for advertising!