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. With “Easy” answers? Got one?
Posted Under: Advertising,Consumer Behavior,Murketing,The People's Marketing
I remember when I saw these things popping up in Staples stores: The “Easy Button” from the chain’s ad campaign. You could buy yourself a piece of Staples’ branding efforts. Who would do that? I remember thinking: If these sell, it would be a great Consumed.
But then I never heard anything else about it, never knew anybody who bought one, never saw or heard references to anybody buying one. And of course I never bothered to look into it, since I had plenty of other things to write about.
Well, now comes a piece in Brandweek saying that Staples has sold 1.5 million of them! They cost $5 apiece.
The piece also mentions people buying gnomes that Travelocity is selling. But really that’s just something with a life of its own that Travelocity appropriated for its branding, so I think it’s different. You can buy a gnome without having a handle on Travelocity or its marketing, but the Easy Button is a product that exists only as an extension of advertising. (So far as I know, anyway.)
Brandweek compares the Easy Buttons to Hess trucks, and quotes an ad guy involved in the campaign that spawned the buttons saying: “It’s a testament to very successful advertising … an elegant metaphor for the fact that everyone is frustrated as hell about how hard it is to get things done today.”
Is he right about that? Why do people buy these? If you’ve bought one or know somebody who has, please explain: murketing AT robwalker DOT net. (Or in the comments.)
Regarding the picture above: I was looking for an image to swipe for this post and found this guy’s Flickr set about hacking the “Easy Button” into a garage-door opener. (That’s step 15 pictured.) Clever!
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Reader Comments
Yeah, there is a guy in our office that has one. It’s kind of a joke, but hell, he bought it. And, if they’ve sold 1.5 million of them, it’s no joke.
When you go into Staples you see them by the cash registers, the place where pschologically they will sell as an impulse purchase.
BTW, did you see how Staples was branded on The Office last night? One of the characters was given shredding duties, then he proceeded to show how great this Staples shredder was. Here’s the great thing: After that bit, the commercial for the shredder came on and it highlighted the same features the guy in the show did (like how it can shred a CD or a credit card). It was so effective, I almost logged onto Staples.com and pucrhased one.
Interesting. I guess I can see people buying them as an impulse gag thing, moreso than a reaction to the “hard as hell to get things done” zeitgeist. I like to imagine the future archeaologists hitting a big layer of these things as they tunnel down into some landfill some day, trying to deduce what sort of civilization we were.
Anyway, I didn’t see that Office thing, but it sounds pretty blatant. Maybe if all you had to do was press an Easy Button, you’d have gone all the way… ?
That was my first guess: a joke, or a gag gift among the staff. But do you think it sells so well because it can be expensed/written off? It’s just another item on a Staples receipt so who’s gonna notice?
Now those forced sterilizations…I mean office Secret Santa exchanges, are lightened by one-degree thanks to this 9-to-5 appropriate No-Brainer-but-Better-than-a-Garfield-Mug giftee/crap. No need to make an extra trip to Big Lots! for Jean Nate Afterbath Splash/Caesar Dressing.
These last two suggestions, from Irene and Raven, are both quite good, particularly taken together. The Easy Button as solution to secret santa ritual — AND you can expense it. Yes…
A little late, but I’ve been on vacation, so…
Our company controller bought these for all of her 7 accounting staffers, because she kept saying in their meetings that she wished she had an easy button to push when problems came up, and she decided it would be fun and morale-boosting to give these out. After several months, hers is prominently displayed on her desk, while the others’ are all out of sight. So, perhaps for a dysfunctional manager, these could work as a mindless amusement. Most people would probably rather have their parking paid or something instead…
I do like the garage door opener idea, however. I will have to look into that.