Colgate's #brushswap turns into brushgate

What happens when a brand promises customers free products as part of a viral campaign and can’t keep up with the campaign? Wide scale criticism and public humiliation is the answer.

http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/article/1218637/colgate-brushswap-debacle-banned-ad-watchdog-misleading-claims

Colgate clearly didn’t have any luck when it came to this campaign. Deciding to host #brushswap in a crowded location like Waterloo certainly doesn’t help with crowd control of the size of a rampant public who have caught wind of a cheap deal. Within two hours the experiential campaign was brought to a complete halt by Network Rail staff clearly concerned about the swelling around the pop-up toothbrush stall.

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-2361854/Brush-controversy-Colgate-promotion-backfires-hundreds-mob-promotional-stands-free-electric-toothbrushes.html

What happens when a campaign doesn’t go according to plan? Well of course the angry mob takes to Twitter to voice their concerns. Colgate clearly didn’t have this in mind when they were thinking about how much social awareness this could drive.

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?id=106943352729676&story_fbid=490648371025837

It’s hard to read some of these comments and still believe in the old adage that no news is bad news. When negative criticism is coming straight from the mouths of the very people you were trying to target with promotional giveaways you begin to create more hard work than good. The lack of judgment and accuracy in forecasting demand brought together the very consumers who expressed an interest in using Colgate’s premium branded products and instead created an army of disgruntled brushers.

When the chips are down for a brand following a publicity stunt like this what is that last thing you want? If you answered more controversy than you would be on the money my friend. It turns out the electronic brush that Colgate suggested cost £169 actually retails more accurately around £85. So there you have it- not only do you manage to annoy a target audience, you also manage to get in trouble with the authorities along the way. Just a couple of things to consider the next time a brand look to use experiential marketing to convey a message. And next time Colgate look into using innovative marketing for product sampling they might want to brush up on their demand forecasts.