Radioshack has a new ad campaign that claims Radioshack’s friends call them “The Shack.” Someone high up at Radioshack decided that “Radioshack,” as in a shack filled with radios, was too snobbish, too bourgeoisie to appeal to the average customer.
Here’s why creating an ad campaign that calls your business a shack is a terrible idea.
I was under the impression that Radioshack had no friends, only people who secretly wanted to burn it down
“Shack” Sounds Cheap
I’m not talking about “look at all the deals!” cheap; I’m talking about “Yeah, Cindy’s husband took the house so she moved to some shack in the woods” cheap. I can’t understand why Radioshack would focus on the worst part of their name to try and attract customers. It’d be like Target focusing on “Tar” to drum up business.
Our friends call us "Tar" because once you enter you. can. never. leave.
I understand that a new ad focusing on “Radio” would cause confusion with that Cuba Gooding Jr. movie, but at least customers wouldn’t think of possums every time the commercial aired.
Actually, let’s try out an ad that uses “radio” instead of “shack.”
“Our friends call us Radio …our friends are all retarded.”
I guess that isn’t much better. If only there was some way to combine “radio” and “shack” into a business name that consumers could identify with without realizing they were buying electronics out of a shack. Oh well.
No One Calls Radioshack “The Shack”
I’ve never heard anyone call Radioshack “The Shack.” I’ve heard people call Radioshack overpriced, unhelpful, and useless, but I’ve never heard someone call Radioshack a playful pet name.
Who are these people affectionately referring to Radioshack as “The Shack?” The name just doesn’t match how much money Radioshack charges for a little electronic part or a piece of wire. The last time I spent that much money in a shack heroin was involved.
In fact, I’m going to go on the record here and say that when the aliens come down and hide among us, one way we’ll be able to tell them apart from real humans is that they’ll refer to Radioshack as “The Shack.” Then they’ll chant a few pages of the bible backward before exclaiming how much fun they had at the dentist.
People Associate Shacks With Bad Things
I’m guessing none of the corporate-brass at Radioshack have watched a horror movie recently, but people die in shacks. There’s probably someone dying in a shack right now. Here’s a good example — what’s in theaters right now? District 9? People die in shacks in that movie.
“The Shack” also makes people think of that song “Loveshack.” Apparently, a loveshack is a little place where people get together, in the woods, with their genitals. Specifically, this person.
The pickup line "I have this loveshack in the woods where we can get together" wasn't working, so Fred Schneider added "melody."
The last thing I want to think about while looking at cellphones at Radioshack is Fred Schneider rolling around on a splintered wooden floor with some hitchhiker he tricked into his Cadillac with half a Pop-Tart.
Conclusion
I’d love to know what kind of focus testing Radioshack did before coming out with this “The Shack” ad campaign. Someone, somewhere must have thought it was a good idea. Is this someone from planet earth? No. No this someone is not.
{ 0 comments… add one now }