Incongruity in advertising works by putting together things that don't normally belong together. The Worst Combination takes that principle somewhere more uncomfortable: find two things whose collision makes people instinctively recoil.
Unfortunately, it also ensures the Worst Combination tactic hardly ever sees the light of day because it looks, on the surface, exactly like a bad idea to be avoided at all costs.
The difference is intent. A genuinely bad idea has nothing to say. A Worst Combination uses the wrongness of the pairing to drive disgust, disbelief and involuntary recoil... all reactions that travel. Here are four dumb thinking tactics from the Dumb Thinking Engine that turned such combos into cultural moments.
- Post the wrong thing and watch the internet do the work
- Collide two brands that should never meet
- Mash the product into a category it has no business entering
- Use the calendar to make wrongness feel timely
1. Post the wrong thing and watch the internet do the work
Propose the most objectionable serving suggestion you can imagine — then sit back.
Weetabix and Baked Beans — Weetabix, Frank PR, 2021
Weetabix wanted fame on a budget, and the dumb fun answer was to post a single image of baked beans on Weetabix's Twitter account as a serving suggestion. With no commentary. The response was immediate and global. Brands, governments, media outlets, and celebrities weighed in. The post became a cultural flashpoint, generating global news coverage, viral engagement, and a brand pile-on that money couldn't have bought. The audience's reaction was 'literally' the media plan.
