Lesson 3: Break the fourth wall
Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2025 3:14 am
The first Malört ad I ever saw was in 2022, in season one of the Chicago-set TV show The Bear, of all places. Anna Sokratov says it was one of the first ads they ever ran — for nearly a century prior, Malört relied on word of mouth and Chicagoans pranking out-of-town guests.
Since marketing Malört is such a new phenomenon, Sokratov, brand manager for Jeppson’s Malört, feels a lot of freedom to be funny, to be outlandish, to be experimental. (In fact, one of the people she looks to for inspiration is previous marketing master Greg Fass of Liquid Death.)
It’s an old saw at this point that authenticity drives consumer loyalty. But less is said about what authenticity looks like. “People are really looking for brands that break that fourth wall,” Sokratov says. “They want to see the people behind the brand.”
Past and present employees appear in a series of ads armenia phone number material featuring Malört faces (Google it), which are underscored by the tagline, “Do not enjoy. Responsibly.” Malört may be a lot of things, but it’s neither dishonest nor indirect.
Read “This is disgusting, try some”: Marketing Chicago’s vile-tasting liqueur
Lesson 4: Use the peanut butter method.
“Everyone hates advertising, but they're okay being sold to,” Hassan S. Ali, creative director of brand at Hootsuite, says.
It’s like using peanut butter to sneak your dog a pill. “If people are willing to be sold to, pitch the pill in something yummy. People will watch it.” (Let’s ignore for a moment that we are all the hapless dogs in this analogy.)
“I often think that the best ads are ones we can‘t measure, because they’re shared in a group chat with friends.” I sincerely hope nobody is working on a pixel that can track my group chats, but it’s true that if somebody shares an ad, it’s because it’s both funny and emotionally resonant.
Since marketing Malört is such a new phenomenon, Sokratov, brand manager for Jeppson’s Malört, feels a lot of freedom to be funny, to be outlandish, to be experimental. (In fact, one of the people she looks to for inspiration is previous marketing master Greg Fass of Liquid Death.)
It’s an old saw at this point that authenticity drives consumer loyalty. But less is said about what authenticity looks like. “People are really looking for brands that break that fourth wall,” Sokratov says. “They want to see the people behind the brand.”
Past and present employees appear in a series of ads armenia phone number material featuring Malört faces (Google it), which are underscored by the tagline, “Do not enjoy. Responsibly.” Malört may be a lot of things, but it’s neither dishonest nor indirect.
Read “This is disgusting, try some”: Marketing Chicago’s vile-tasting liqueur
Lesson 4: Use the peanut butter method.
“Everyone hates advertising, but they're okay being sold to,” Hassan S. Ali, creative director of brand at Hootsuite, says.
It’s like using peanut butter to sneak your dog a pill. “If people are willing to be sold to, pitch the pill in something yummy. People will watch it.” (Let’s ignore for a moment that we are all the hapless dogs in this analogy.)
“I often think that the best ads are ones we can‘t measure, because they’re shared in a group chat with friends.” I sincerely hope nobody is working on a pixel that can track my group chats, but it’s true that if somebody shares an ad, it’s because it’s both funny and emotionally resonant.