Ambidextr Media

When it comes to advertising, the odd and different ones are always the ones the public remembers. Whether it’s the emotional storytelling of Kwentong Jollibee or the many catchy songs of brands like Milo and Nestea, a good ad can be a cultural reset. 

But with everyone competing, what’s the best strategy? Should we get the best musicians to compose symphonies for our products? Should we gather the literary greats of the Philippines to write something emotionally heartbreaking? Stories and song aren’t the only ways brands have found to be effective in reaching the public. For some, it’s being so out there that the masses talk about it. 

We all remember that RC Cola ad, “Nyahahakbkxjbcjhishdishlsab@!!!! Basta RC Cola!” The one where the child is crying to his mother as he asks her if he was adopted. Then, they reveal the cups on the boy’s back as the mother unveils her true form, an RC Cola bottle as her head. The commercial was released in 2020, yet people still talk about it, whether to laugh or to analyze it. 

It’s not just Filipinos with their abstract memes. The international language-learning app, Duolingo, has been making rounds in the short-form video platform, Tiktok. Duolingo already had an absurd, almost horror-like humor that surrounded it. People made memes of the Duolingo owl– sometimes referred to as simply Duo– haunting and hunting the users who missed their daily language lessons. Thus, the people behind Duolingo went along with the joke. 

Neither case were by accident or stroke of luck. These brands appealed to one demographic: Generation Z. This generation of youth are the loudest on social media. Evidently, people began to recognize the value in social media marketing, especially during the pandemic. It specifically targets the absurd and abstract humor that is widespread within the demographic. These were made, not just to catch people’s attention, but to put them in so much disbelief that they feel the need to share it with friends. 

And, it worked. RC Cola and Duolingo saw an increase in numbers with the release of their absurd ads. RC Cola saw a 67% increase in their sales with the release of that commercial. Duolingo was struggling by 2018 with their user retention as more and more people skipped, forgot, or quit their language studies through the app. However, since experiencing a rapid success on TikTok, Duolingo is reportedly seeing an increase in the people who use their app daily. 

That’s not to say that this type of marketing is easy. Memes are quick to die on the internet. Something is funny one day and cringe or annoying the next. With the rate of jokes dying online, it’s hard for many marketers to catch up. By the time their pitch had been accepted or approved, the meme is already outdated. Duolingo bypasses this time sensitivity through their choice of platform. TikTok only allows short videos that users can easily scroll past. Thanks to this, Duolingo can just pull out the mascot and have it chase a camera for ten seconds to be as effective as a fully produced commercial. RC Cola took it a step further by creating their own wave of memes. This type of marketing requires an intimate understanding of the current generation that’s carrying the conversations online and the platforms they’re on. It’s a fine line between hilarious and corny that brands like Duolingo and RC Cola walk proudly on. 

Blog by Nicole Samson