Ballsy Ads: What Changemakers Can Learn From A Taboo-Breaking Men’s Grooming Brand
While we were watching the Wimbledon finals this Sunday, my husband pointed out the commercial for a brand called Ballsy, which he had been seeing all week.
He knows I’m always looking for examples of interesting brand expressions (or was he dropping hints for his upcoming birthday?).
It’s a men’s grooming brand focused on balls. Not tennis balls.
Men’s balls.
Tennis balls for men? No. Testicles. Private parts.
We had a good laugh about the commercial.
Giggles aside, there are some profound lessons to learn for changemakers who want to bust taboos.
1. It’s proof that niche works: in an e-commerce world, niching down works! Conventional brands like Philips will never be able to pull this off. They can follow the hipster vibe — but explicitly naming balls is taking it a bit far.
Lesson: niching down to a specific topic is no longer the risk it once was. See also my previous post on differentiating through niche with Charity: Water.
2. No more taboos: this is more proof that taboos are ready to be broken, and the brands that do can win big. Ballsy takes this taboo on full-frontal (no pun intended).
Lesson: People might be more ready than you think.
3. Based on customer insights: from the brand name to the voice-over, I’m spotting lots of consumer insights. Guys have to take on weird poses and angles, it’s hard to do a good job, it hurts, if you use your gear below first and then move up you get ball smell on your face, etc., etc. Lots of good reasons to stop multi-tasking with your beard trimmer.
Lesson: If you want to bust a taboo — start with the problem you are solving for your audience.
4. Creative ad placement: the mash-up between tennis balls and men’s balls is pretty fun. It creates an extra giggle. The contrast between the posh and decidedly un-humourous brand of Wimbledon and a ball shaver commercial enhances the impact and makes Ballsy stand out even more.
Lesson: It’s not just what you talk about, it’s where you choose to discuss it. Explore spaces outside your natural environment as a brand.
With Ballsy advertising running for several days of Wimbledon, the brand achieved brand recognition and recall with 100% of my polling audience (my husband).
I’m guessing this score will be consistent with the wider viewership of Wimbledon too.
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