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Do You Have to Be Outrageous
to Be Remarkable
Outrageous is not always remarkable. It’s certainly not
required. Sometimes outrageous is just annoying. Ozzy
Osbourne is lucky to be both outrageous and remarkable.
But a performance artist smearing himself with lard and
wrapping himself in felt is just plain weird.
It’s easy to fall into a trap of running upside-down ads,
wearing green bow ties, and filling your ads with scatological
references. Being scandalous might work on occasion,
but it’s not a strategy; it’s desperation. The outrageousness
needs to have a purpose, and it needs to be built into the
product.
Walking onto a cross-country flight, I noticed that the
60-year-old woman in front of me was wearing a Hooters
T-shirt. Their slogan “Delightfully tacky, yet unrefined.”
The fascinating thing about Hooters’ outrageousness is
that it’s just outrageous enough to be remarkable to this
audience...without offending. Does everyone like
Hooters No way. That’s part of what makes it remarkable.
If everyone liked it, it would be boring.
The reminder: It’s not about the way you say it, it’s what
you say. And while you can momentarily use offensive
behavior to capture the attention of people who might not
want to pay attention, it’s not a long-run strategy.
Outrageousness by itself won’t work because the conversations
sneezers have about you aren’t positive.
102
Seth Godin
You’re probably guilty of being too shy, not too
outrageous. Try being outrageous, just for the sake
of being annoying. It’s good practice. Don’t do it
too much because it doesn’t usually work. But it’s a
good way to learn what it feels like to be at the edge.