Aldi Vogue Cover: Power of Parody
Every DTC marketing team knows how useful it can be to use parody in your campaigns. Parodying pop culture moments, viral trends and more can be a great way of humanising your brand, creating funny, and shareable campaigns that your customers love. Yet it can be a dangerous line to walk, push the boat too far and your brand can be in some hot water! We all know at least one brand that has missed the mark when it comes to marketing parodies.
The supermarket Aldi is no stranger to parody. Over the years they have created fantastic ads targeting everything from Marks and Spencer’s iconic Colin the Caterpillar, to clothing giant Nike. Now their latest marketing campaign has playfully taken aim at Vogue magazine in a fantastic example of using parody in a way that actually works.
Vogue’s recent edition, celebrating editor Edward Enninful’s final issue, featured 40 of the world’s most famous models, putting them all in the same photoshoot in a move that must have required quite a lot of coordination. Aldi, never one to miss out, used some clever (and very quick) Photoshop to recreate this cover with 40 of their products under the title ‘Rogue’ and posted it on their social media with the caption ‘British Icons: Aldi Edition’.
It’s a great example of the power of parody, but what lessons can DTC brands learn from this clever campaign?
1) Don’t punch down
Have a look through Aldi’s past campaigns. Notice anything? All the adverts that use parody are targeting bigger, more established brands. That’s because Aldi is making a conscious effort to only target brands that can withstand the mockery. But this also has a positive impact on Aldi too, ensuring that their campaigns are always tongue-in-cheek and positioning them as the funny underdog.
2) Does it align with your brand values?
One of the reasons Aldi’s parodies are so well received is because they already have a reputation for doing this sort of marketing stunt. It fits with their established brand and their values and doesn’t come across as jarring to their customer base. There is no point in suddenly using parody in your marketing without making sure it aligns with your brand and what your customers expect from your tone of voice.
3) Make it obvious
Parody works best when it is very clear exactly what it is you are parodying. Don’t try to be subtle, make it obvious. Aldi did this in a few different ways including the use of the ‘Rogue’ title, the caption on social media and using the exact same font and colour palette as the Vogue cover.
4) Be sincere when targeting the younger generations
While brands might have been able to get away with sarcastic parodies targeted towards millennials, Gen Z is far more critical of brands who use humour. Choose the wrong approach and your brand risks the danger of being labelled as ‘cringe-worthy’. Remember, we are in a ‘post-irony’ age where sincerity and sarcasm are blended together, meaning brands have to carefully choose what to reference in their marketing. Gen Z is far more willing to spend their money on brands that align with both their values and their sense of humour.
