File this one under the WTF? category. Literally. Seems that ‘edgy’ marketing, and its viral counterpart, are all the rage, with many folks pushing the envelope to develop ‘buzz’. However, you’ve got to understand that taking heat is all part of the deal, and weathering the controversy is part of the game plan. You don’t cave in the first round. Case in point -
Mac’s Convenience Stores, a chain in Ontario, recently lauched a teen-targeted campaign for new flavors of Mac’s Froster Drinks, those frosty, sickly sweet drink concotions, ever-so-popular with the teen set. Amazingly, the two new flavors were to be called WTF (internet parlance for What the Fuck – Mac’s claimed it meant “What’s the Flavor”) and OMG (internet shorthand for “Oh my God”). To add to the mix, Mac’s began to promote the new flavours with a stunningly provocative poster featuring a nun and a goat (hey, ya got me) bowing to a floating cup emblazoned with the WTF logo designs (above left). In a word – breathtaking.
The planned commercials are equally provocative. In this ‘Goodbye Tickles‘ spot, a non-descript puppet (after ‘drinking too much – just like Dad’) is ambushed by a vampire, and subsequently heaves a load of juicy goodness into a WTF glass. The child’s voiceover added a bizarre element that needs to be seen, to be believed. Have a looksee…
In the follow-up vid Hate Crimes, two fuzzy characters (at the risk of giving away my age, suspciously like characters from one of my fave childhood shows – H.R. Puffnstuff ) – beat the beejezus out of eachother, till one dies(!), but not before gushing orange liquid that is collected in a WTF logo’d cup. I love it, but I’d have been surprised if it showed up on any of my Tee Vees between kid show segments…
As you can imagine, folks were instantly up-in-arms about the campaign, taking special exception with the nun, goat and WTF poster. Conservative and Catholic advocacy groups organized write-in campaigns which saw the poster campaign yanked PDQ (internet parlance for Pretty Damned Quick) and this response from Mac’s HQ –
Thank you very much for your feedback regarding our recent promotional campaign for Froster drinks.
We sincerely apologize if our campaign has offended you. Please be assured it was not our intent to offend or insult any of our customers.
We have removed these posters from our stores on May 10, 2007 – should there be one remaining in your area please let me know and I will arrange to have it removed.
Again, we thank you for your feedback it is much appreciated.
Huh? Wasn’t their attention to offend? Didn’t the head-office suits realize that such a campaign would stir controversy? Every one else sure as hell did. You can read more at Toronto’s Globe and Mail here. And wasn’t that the point of the entire campaign? To act all ‘OMG, we didn’t know WTF we were doing until some people pointed out that featuring a nun and a goat is offensive‘ is more than a little disingenuous. Alas, the folks at Mac’s chickened out and the campaign has now fallen quickly from sight.
Wonder how much coin was dropped in the development? WTF indeed.
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This is unbelievable to say the least. The Marketing person responsible for allowing these commercials should be fired! Not only is Mac’s promoting violence, but HATE CRIME! I feel sorry for the countless front line employees that have to deal with upset customers and parents that must yell at them for this marketing. What does this type of stuff have to deal with a Froster anyway? 7-Eleven would NEVER attempt to do something as ridiculous as a WTF offensive poster/commercial marketing campaign – but whatever!
Concerned Parent – Thanks for dropping by. I actually went into a Mac’s Milk to see if the WTF campaign was real (after seeing it on the toobz, found it hard to believe). Sure enough, the WTF stuff (minus the nun image) was in full swing. The poor guy behind the register was at a loss for words when I asked him if he knew what the acroyms stood for. Best he could come up with was “what’s the flavor”.
These are pretty creative. Where can I see the rest?