George Wright filmed his CEO blending a rake handle with a $50 budget. Six videos later, they had 6 million YouTube views and sales jumped 700%.
The Full Story
George Wright joined Blendtec in 2006 and noticed sawdust everywhere in the testing room. The CEO regularly blended two-by-fours to test durability. Wright had an idea: film this. With a $50 budget, he bought a white lab coat and some random objects. First episode: blending marbles, a garden rake, and a rotisserie chicken. No fancy production. Just a deadpan CEO and a very powerful blender.
Why It's Crazy
Their entire marketing strategy was filming their product destroying itself — and random objects — in extremely low-budget videos. The absurdity was the product demo.
The Strategy Behind It
The absurdity demonstrated the product's actual value proposition (extreme durability) better than any traditional demo could. 'Will it blend?' poses a question the viewer can't resist. The answer always confirms: this blender is absurdly powerful.
The Results
700% increase in blender sales within one year. YouTube channel grew to 900,000+ subscribers and 300M+ views. Listed among the top viral marketing campaigns for over a decade.
Steal This Idea
What's the most extreme demonstration of your product's core benefit? Don't show the product in its normal use case — show it at the absolute limit of what it can do. The extreme case is always more memorable than the average case.
Campaign Details
- Industry
- Consumer Electronics
- Budget
- Low (Under $10K)
- Era
- 2000s · 2006
- Views
- 56,800
- Brand Size
- SMB
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