February saw Canadian meat purveyor Greenfield Natural Meat Co. kick off its Meatless Monday campaign. Encouraging customers to forgo meat on Mondays, the high-end butcher cites the harmful environmental impact of meat production. As well as encouraging customers to share their pledge on social media, the company covers up product photos of its meat on its website every Monday.

This is the new marketing landscape. Next time your colleagues or clients shoot down an idea for being too risky or simply ‘not possible’ then show them this. A meat producer promoting Meatless Mondays. Or show them other recently featured campaigns such as Philip Morris’ anti-smoking ad, or Diesel’s ‘authentic knock-off’ store. Or any number of examples right back to Patagonia’s famous ‘Don’t Buy This Jacket’ Black Friday campaign.

Two takeaways. First, if you know there’s a wider issue facing your brand or industry, confront it head on. Support your customers, don’t fight them! Second, in a world of total abundance only the boldest messages will cut through and seize consumers’ attention. But don’t just be loud and brash for the sake of it. Only the best brands will have the confidence to make – and follow through on – bold statements like this. Can you?

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