Well the Doc opened up the old mailbag today and here’s what poured out.
Dear Dr. Ads,
There I was, minding my own business and waltzing through the Wall Street Journal, when I tripped over this Megan Graham piece about RadioShack’s latest marketing campaign.
Some RadioShack Dealers Aren’t Happy as the Brand Leans on NSFW Tweets
RadioShack’s crass new marketing strategy is disappointing some of the brand’s independent dealers, including one retail partner that says it is ending the relationship in response.
RadioShack’s Twitter account, once a source of electronics deals and blast-from-the-past ads, this year became a collection of porn-themed memes, sexual jokes and crypto-related posts.
C’mon – Radio Shack is where I used to buy cassette recorders and fuzzbusters. Now I need to buy into porn, too? What the hell, Doc.
– Buzzbuster
Dear Buzzie,
Yeah, right? Here’s RadioShack’s 2014 re-branding, which was launched in a minute-long Super Bowl ad.
And here’s some of the retail chain’s current re-branding via Twitter.
In July, The Verge’s David Pierce posted this overview of RadioShack’s “increasingly unhinged and sex-crazed Twitter account.”
In addition to tweeting things like “due to inflation 6 inches is now 9 inches” and “Just took an upper decker in @Applebees ama” the company has also gone big into cryptocurrency and NFTs. RadioShack would be an excellent meme stock if it hadn’t declared bankruptcy and then been bought by Tai Lopez’s company REV, the same investor that now owns Dressbarn, Pier 1, Linens-n-Things, and Modell’s Sporting Goods . . .
It seems a bit odd to see a brand go the shitposter route, but hey, it’s worked pretty well for Elon Musk, so why not give it a try?
Pierce also noted that 1) RadioShack nearly doubled its Twitter followers in the first two weeks of the campaign, but 2) the new campaign hasn’t seemed to help the chain’s stock price very much.
The Doc’s diagnosis? Just a RadioShuck.
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