Before we start this column, you’ll need to watch the 55 second video above for it to make sense (click on the one with the three bottles; not the picture of the young man). Warning: Some of you won’t like it. I get that. That’s why we’re discussing it. [If the video above doesn’t play, you can also see it at this link.]
I’m betting that, if you each had to vote “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” on this ad, it’d come out about 60 ups and 40 downs. I could be hugely off on that, but let’s go with that for now. There’s a school of thought that says, “Whoa! Why would you do that then? Pepsi would NEVER risk making 40% of watchers uncomfortable!!! With all the possible comfortable, gentle ways Drew could advertise a hot sauce, why risk making 40% of the people watching uncomfortable?”
It’s because Drew is really smart, especially for someone half my age. (Okay, a third…whatever.)
Drew gets that interesting beats safe almost every time. Yes, there are limits. If he were interestingly offending 98% of watchers, he’d have a hard time making enough on the 2% to make it worthwhile. When I was scrolling through Facebook and saw Drew in a chair, I stopped to scroll back and turn on the audio. wheelchair = different = interesting. Then I heard what he was saying and how atypical it was. Then I got caught up in how it was almost like a stand-up comedy routine with fun graphics to boot. Yes, he’s snarky, but not in a mean way. He’s comfortable which gives us permission to be comfortable, too. And to like him. To like him is to respect him is to wish him well. And that translates to salsa caliente dinero for Drew.
But again what about losing that (randomly chosen) 40% of people who, in the comfort of their privacy, might be turned off and continue to buy another brand? Here’s where that logic goes awry. If there were only two brands of hot sauce out there, your point would be valid. But there’s 316 brands out there (fictional data; do not verify). So if 60% of the people who watch this video like it and even a quarter of them think, “I kinda wanna try this now….”, what percent of the market share did Drew just take over? That’s right: 15% of hot sauce sales. Real math. Okay, based on ridiculous data, but Drew doesn’t need my data. He’s just wracking in sales. So let’s get to the real data:
Drew says, “…24 months later, we have sold more than 178,000 bottles and have donated thousands of dollars to cerebral palsy research as a part of our mission to show that no matter your situation, anything is possible.”
Now factor in that I kinda lied at the beginning. I don’t think even close to 40% of people won’t like this ad, because Drew is also smart enough to know that most people, even if they aren’t completely comfortable with disabilities, are okay with the notion that one can self-deprecate and, to a point, joke about their own kind. Drew never pokes fun at anyone but himself.
That said, I’m not happy to report that showing insensitivity to others sometimes can actually pay off. In 2012, the CEO of Chick-Fil-A fueled already existing flames with the LGBT+ community, making insensitive statements, after years of donating corporate profits to anti-LGBT+ organizations. This led to a nationwide boycott of Chick-Fil-A by LGBT+ supporters. That must have been terrible for CFA sales, right? Nope. Chick-Fil-A’s sales rose twelve percent tin the period immediately following the controversy; this was largely attributed to former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee’s counter-boycott launched in support of the restaurant. Why did CFA stand their ground? They figured out that it was, financially at least, okay to risk 50% of American support if a sizeable portion of the other 50% suddenly, purposefully, went to CFA (instead of Burger King, McDonalds, Subway, KFC, etc.) to rally behind CFA.
Again, this article is neither a defense nor a condemnation of CFA; it’s showing that when people take an interest, it motivates emotion and activity, which is something we want when we’re speaking to groups.
Thankfully, you don’t need to upset anyone at all to be interesting. But you do need to look at what isn’t like what everyone else is doing. Drew Davis is bold, charismatic, and a little goofy. In the 60s, he’d have been told that he better check that at the door if he wanted to succeed. But we’re in different times now, and he gets that, while his style is a little jarring (no pun intended), his speaking makes him stand out from Frank’s RedHot, Tabasco, and Cholula − with far more good for him than not.
Paraphrasing a phenomenal business coach colleague of mine: “80% of people can’t handle my directness and run from me. I make the other 20% a s***load of money and I do that for enough people that I’m rich. Why would I want to tone my style down, when it’s what makes everything work for the right people?” Sajad is not everyone’s cup of tea, for sure. But NO ONE would ever use the words boring, unclear, or forgettable to describe him. Can you say that about most speakers in business?
You don’t have to throw caution to the wind in your presentations.. But you’ll benefit − and so will your audience − if you throw in at least a little jalapeño.
PS: Think one word of what Drew speaks or what I said here was written by AI? Think again. Be human; be original; be interesting.