Fred Abaroa

No joke this was an actual experiment (see http://improbable.com/2009/06/02/swedish-cows-make-lousy-earthquake-detectors-study/). Seems dumb but imagine if cows were put into the Earthquake detecting service without testing the theory. May not be the best use of our time and money.

In reality I see businesses do this all the time with their marketing campaign. I remember the restaurant Chi Chi's when in came to California. The commercial had a woman showing a little cleavage and the announcers stating "You get a special Chi Chi's delight in every thing you order". The problem is that chichis is a Spanish slang for breast. The commercial allways made be do the teen age boy giggle. If that wasn't bad enough the tag line was, "The Incredible Edible Chi Chi's". This did not go over very well in southern california. On the other hand Jack In The Box purposely put out a commercial where a man states "I get it Taco-Burrito Taquito a burrito styled taco." which was not even close to the real meaning which is "little taco". When I asked the marketing guy why he made such an obvious blunder his answer was "It got your attention didn't it!" He was right. The difference, Chi Chi's blunder was a little offensive, Jack In The Box was funny.

Moral of the Story. Test market your campaigns before you through too much money into them. Hire a research firm, a consultant or pass it by your best customers but dont just put it out there without a predictable outcome.