Oversharing. It plagues social media, often cited by Twitter and Facebook resisters and old-school media pundits as the root of their derisive commentaries. Sometimes it seems like 98% of posts are the sort of mundane daily life activities that no one cares about. “Hey, I just got an oil change!”
Which raises the question: How often do you call your friends on their bad social media habits?
Pringles saw an opportunity and went for it. The P&G brand’s newest social media campaign introduces a tagging function that allows Facebook users to smack down their friends by tagging inappropriate posts with the Pringles Overshare button. The oversharer receives a message directing them to the Pringles website for posting tips and the network sees a public News Feed rebuke. Ouch.
While we certainly understand the desire to combat social media drivel, we have to wonder how this campaign will position Pringles in the eyes of those who are called out. The campaign can be compared to Burger King’s Whopper Sacrifice, where participants “unfriended” 10 people in return for a free Whopper. This effort received tons of press, delivered a tangible reward, and was generally perceived to be spot on for the brand’s positioning. It will be interesting to see if the Pringles campaign is taken in the same good spirit, or if it ends up pushing a few too many buttons. The topic is timely and germane, but does Pringles have the sass and unique credibility of the BK brand to pull it off?
The issue at hand highlights one of the great challenges of social media: Edginess is a proven lever that moves the needle, but is the edge where your brand belongs? We have received a couple of briefs lately that challenged us to be viral without sex, violence, or mean-spiritedness. That still leaves babies and cute animals, or… there’s our approach.
Where possible, we aim for telling a story that is provocative and/or inspiring in a way that makes people feel good and invites them to find their own place in the narrative. Sounds simple. But finding that authentic voice, without oversharing, is a great creative challenge.
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