TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction: The Bleepin’ Power of Profanity
1.1. The Buzz: Why Everyone’s Talking About It
1.2. The Evolution of “Taboo”: How Language is Always Changing
2. The Science of Swearing: It’s Not All Bad Words
2.1. Emotions and Expletives: The Brain’s Response
2.2. The Recall Factor: How Curse Words Stick in Memory
3. Profanity’s Prowess in Pop Culture
3.1. How Top Brands Are Swearing Their Way to Success
3.2. From Movies to Memes: Profanity’s Grip on Our Attention
4. Breaking Down Barriers: The Real-talk Aspect
4.1. Building Authenticity: Why Audiences Connect with Candor
4.2. The Age of “Relatability”: Profanity’s Role in Making Brands More Human
5. SEO Benefits: F@#&ing Boost Your Rankings
5.1. Unconventional Keywords: Standing Out in Search Results
5.2. Engaging Content = Better SEO: How Profanity Can Play a Part
6. The Risks and Rewards
6.1. When It Works and When It Doesn’t
6.2. Treading Carefully: Understanding Cultural and Demographic Differences
7. Navigating the Minefield: How to Use Profanity Wisely
7.1. Knowing Your Audience: A Bleepin’ Important First Step
7.2. Balancing Act: Don’t Overdo the Swear Jar!
8. Case Studies: Brands that Swore and Scored
8.1. The Unexpected Heroes: Conservative Brands that Took the Plunge
8.2. Learning from Slip-Ups: Brands that F@#&ed Up and How They Recovered
9. The Road Ahead: Predictions for the Foul-Mouthed Future of Marketing
9.1. Will the Trend Last or Are We Just F@#&ing Around?
9.2. The New Marketing Frontier: Opportunities for Brands Willing to Take Risks
10. Conclusion: To Swear or Not to Swear? That’s the F@#&ing Question
F@#&IN’-A-WRITE: THE POWER OF PROFANITY IN MARKETING
Ok, let’s get this out of the way right now. Obviously, this article is going to contain profanity. So, if you’re someone who frequently calls the cops on “disorderly skateboarding youths”, or you eagerly volunteered to be your dorm’s RA, or you happen to be a huge fan of Christian Rock (the old stuff, not this new-age inclusive patootie) then please swipe left on this post and get back to drinking chamomile tea with your 6 cats or whatever cuz this one ain’t for you.
Ok, now that it’s just us cool kids, hey fuckers, how are ya? Let’s talk about why you should be adding a little linguistic sauce to your marketing content and copy.
“Under certain circumstances, urgent circumstances, desperate circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer.” – Mark Twain
1. Introduction: The Power of Profanity
Profanity is to communication as Florida is to the United States. Technically unnecessary, and you could probably make a case that we’d be better off without it altogether, but deep down inside you know we need it around because at the very least stories that contain a lot of it are almost always very fucking funny.
Sometimes, well-placed expletives are a necessary part of dialogue. If movies, to use one example, have taught us anything, it’s that actors like Samuel L. Jackson would be Samuel L. Who The Fuck Are You Talking About, if we didn’t know about his tremendous disdain for motherfuckin’ snakes on motherfuckin’ planes. And just as in film, the world of marketing is beginning to recognize the undeniable power of profanity.
1.1. The Buzz: Why Everyone’s Talking About It
From startups bros, to mainstream agencies, to TikTok tween queens or whatever they’re called, anyone with some shit to sell you is hopping on the F train. But why the bleep(fuck) exactly are brands evolving on their definitions of what ‘professional’ content means in their marketing strategies? THE REAL REASON MIGHT SHOCK YOU! (No it won’t)
1.2. The Evolution of “Taboo”: How Language is Always Changing
At one point, “bloody” was the edgiest word in the British dictionary. Then famously, in 1985, Irish singer-songwriter Bob Geldof made history when he said, “Just give us the fuckin’ money!” on live television, during the BBC’s Live Aid charity telethon. It made international news, and was recast (censored for the frail of course) for months. Incidentally, it also made the charity event a literal shit-ton of money. Fast forward a bit to 2020, the number one single for four weeks straight was Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion’s pivotal, feminist, musical-manifesto W.A.P, which today even your sweet, innocent grandmama knows stands for “Wet-Ass Pussy”. Times change, so should our discourse.
2. The Science of Swearing: It’s Not All Bad Words Bitch
2.1. Emotions and Expletives: The Brain’s Response
According to a Dr. Richard Stephens, a scientist with too much free time on his hands and whose name I simply MUST point out is Dick, profanity can actually increase one’s pain tolerance. His study, unimaginatively titled, “Swearing as a Response to Pain”, found that letting out some occasional off color expletives can actually act as a coping mechanism (1). Translate that into some wet-ass marketing, and you’re actually helping your demos cope with their pain.
2.2. The Recall Factor: How Profanity Sticks
Let’s be honest, you’re more likely to remember a slogan that swears atcha a lil’ bit, over the thousands of others that don’t. Or even the insinuation or profane language can be memorable. Campaigns like Kmart’s “Ship My Pants” or Jell-O’s “Fun My Life” are hella better than that of their g-rated competitors. We have data on this: strong emotional responses, like the kind you get from your local Ford dealer telling you to, “Shut the Truck Up”, improve memory recall (2).
3. Profanity’s Prowess in Pop Culture
3.1. How Top Brands Are Swearing Their Way to Success
Anyone heard of this little known, multimillion dollar game company Cards Against Humanity? Their entire brand is built on pushing boundaries, capitalizing on awkward subject matter, and they’re fucking killing it. From historically untouchable topics in ads to downright salacious social media posts, brands are learning that a little sauce goes a long way these days.
Let’s not forget that influencers like Gary Vee have been perfecting profanity as a profession for almost a decade. So much so that swearing has become an integral part of Gary’s brand. When he’s not shaking down MaMa and PopPop to shave 50 cents off of the Mickey Mantle rookie baseball card he just found at their garage sale, or telling high school kids that college is for fuckin losers, then he’s dropping f-bombs and creating viral content on the daily.
4. Breaking Down Barriers: The Real-talk Aspect
4.1. Building Authenticity: Why Audiences Connect with Candor
Buyer markets and digital demographics today are very smart. More importantly however, unlike the same markets of just 20/25 years ago, they know what they want, and they’re much harder to persuade. With the exception of legacy giants like Nike and Apple, they don’t just buy “brands”, they want real people. And sometimes, real people talk like Richard Pryor on the set of a Tarantino movie.
4.2. The Age of “Relatability”: Profanity’s Role in Making Brands More Human
Brands like Wendy’s are killing the Twitter game with their witty and often edgy comebacks and online tête-à-têtes. Public conversations with a candor and tone that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. If your brand had a voice, would it be a stiff boardroom executive, or a stiff bedroom executive? Leave your UUGG for that last sentence in the comments.
5. SEO Benefits: F@#&ing Boost Your Rankings
5.1. Unconventional Keywords: Standing Out in Search Results
Every brand is optimizing for “best shoes” or “affordable laptops”. But how many are optimizing for “best goddamn shoes you’ll ever wear”? It’s untapped, unique, and quite frankly, a brilliant SEO move.
5.2. Engaging Content = Better SEO: How Profanity Can Play a Part
Forget the algorithms for a sec. People share content that’s funny, relatable, and different. Profanity in relatable content is the new cat playing a piano or that cannibal Charlie video. More fuckin’ exposure means better fuckin’ SEO.
6. The Risks and Rewards
6.1. When It Works and When It Doesn’t
Now, it’s not all rainbows and flying unicorns. The key is knowing when to drop an f-bomb and when to keep it clean. Using profanity in UNICEF ad copy? Maybe not so much. But selling antidepressants to dogs or progressive auto insurance? Flow will tell you what the fuck is up.
6.2. Treading Carefully: Understanding Cultural and Demographic Differences
Remember, what’s funny to one culture might be soops offensive to another. So do your research and probably steer clear of the Amish. All due respect, Zebadiah.
7. The Road Ahead: Predictions for the Foul-Mouthed Future of Marketing
7.1. Will the Trend Last or Are We Just F@#&ing Around?
With the current trajectory, profanity will most likely continue to play a more and more important role in online and mainstream ad copy and content.
7.2. The New Marketing Frontier: Opportunities for Brands Willing to Take Risks
As they say, fortune favors the bold. Or in this case, the profane.
8. Conclusion: To Swear or Not to Swear? The Ultimate F@#&ing Question
To wrap it up, language is evolving, and so is marketing. Using profanity can be a powerful tool, but like any other strategy or marketing methodology, it’s all about how you use and implement it. Your best bet is to hire someone funny, learn to be a little more open minded, and try not to offend unless absolutely necessary.
Thanks fuckers
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Disclaimer: This article is for brands with a sense of humor. Always remember to align your marketing strategies with your brand’s values and target audience.
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Footnotes
- Stephens, R., & Umland, C. (2011). Swearing as a response to pain – effect of daily swearing frequency. The Journal of Pain, 12(12), 1274-1281. ↩
- LaBar, K. S., & Phelps, E. A. (1998). Arousal-mediated memory consolidation: Role of the medial temporal lobe in humans. Psychological Science, 9(6), 490-493. ↩