There are memorable marketing campaigns and there are some that fail, such as the latest campaign from website builder and web host Wix.
In its cryptic new marketing campaign titled “You Deserve Better,” the company takes direct aim at the popular content management system (CMS) WordPress.
Wix’s campaign began when the company shipped Bose noise-canceling headphones to prominent WordPress users and influencers. The boxes these headphones arrived in featured a QR code that recipients could scan to view a short video in which a man in a brown jacket personified WordPress.
In the video itself, the man warns WordPress users in a top secret message that Wix is launching a campaign that destroys WordPress, but they shouldn’t worry as this is just fake news. Recipients of the headphones were even more confused by the fact that the box was signed “Yours, WP,” which made it appear that the gift came from WordPress and not Wix.
You deserve more
Following the release of the first video sent to WordPress influencers, Wix has now released six additional videos that point to common WordPress issues.
These videos address some of the downsides of using the world’s most popular CMS such as hackers, refresh button, conflicting WordPress plugins, constant updates, white screen of death, and having to turn to tutorials from self help for support.
However, unlike the first video, the rest of the videos feature both a WordPress developer and the man who personifies the CMS. The pair appear to be in a therapy session where the developer is having a hard time dealing with WordPress issues. In one video, the developer even references Apple’s old PC vs Mac ads and explains that WordPress vs Wix is nothing alike.
So far, Wix’s negative ads have met with disapproval from developers and even WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg, who took to his personal blog to respond to the campaign, saying:
“I have a lot of empathy for whoever was forced to work on these ads, including the actors, must have felt bad working on something like the Encyclopedia Britannica attacking Wikipedia. WordPress is a global movement of hundreds of thousands of volunteers and community members coming together to make the web a better place. The code, and everything you enter, belongs to you, and its open source license ensures that you are in full control, now and forever.
Through WP Tavern
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