There's a quality control instinct in most brand teams that exists to protect good taste. It catches the tone-deaf, filters the offensive, and generally keeps brands from embarrassing themselves. Unfortunately, it also ensures the Worst Combination tactic will never see the light of day in most campaigns 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 has something very specific to say and uses the wrongness of the pairing to say it louder than anything polished could. The disgust, the disbelief, the involuntary recoil — those are the reactions that travel.
Here are four dumb thinking tactics from the Shift Perception Engine that turned terrible combinations 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.
