Getting dirty with porn pays off

Scruffs, a relatively new brand in its sector, appointed CheethamBell JWT, Brilliant Manchester and Brazen (PR) to give them a campaign that would reflect the brand’s thrusting personality and drive sales.What they got back was a rude press/poster campaign and a recommendation they film some porn.

To be respected, Scruffs needed to become one of the lads, and with a cool name and great products, there was no reason why it couldn’t.

But advertising to tradesmen can be a humdrum affair with media selection constrained to specialist titles and ads laden with technical detail.

Job 1 was to sort exposure. Not just via the professionals’ publications but in media away from work stuff. The Daily Star , the Mirror , Nuts, Zoo and washroom posters were pulled in to ensure better coverage of the target audience without breaking the bank.

Job 2 was to get noticed and generate respect. Coy, subtle headlines like “Always wear protection in case you spill your load” and “Steel toe caps, coz nobody wants to see a nasty gash” delivered and got product quality across. As did the offer of some free porn on every ad.

Job 3 was to make this more than just a press/poster campaign. We needed to follow up the ads with product information. Bit boring though, so we thought it would be just like Scruffs to produce a very special product demonstration DVD and offer it for free.

Over two days Scruffs product was put thought its paces, on site, by real workmen. Having sex with gorgeous girls while we filmed them.

It might not be big or clever but it makes tradesmen keen to see your product demonstration DVD! Using DVD also allowed us to have a main movie plus pages of interactive product detail and extra content designed to create web traffic.

That’s because job number 4 was to re-haul the Scruffs website to allow real time ordering – a further touch point with our target but also a chance to sell products directly.

The final plank in the strategy was to PR the hell out of it all.

“Builders brand peddles porn” grabs attention, especially when you launch the campaign at Stringfellows with Miss Jodie Marsh as guest lapdancer.

The results have been phenomenal. On the back of a 10 week campaign over 1,000 DVDs have gone into circulation with total distribution looking to be 5,000 to 10,000 – and that’s before word of mouth really starts to spread.

More importantly, brand awareness and sales are already going through the roof.

Sales have more than doubled, as has the number of stockists offering Scruffs and the number of people calling for the nearest stockist. And web traffic and customers signing up to the Scruffs database has quadrupled.

By Russ Vine Business Development Director, CheethamBell JWT

This article was first published on Media Week