What is puffery? How can you use it in your B2B content?

In the mid-2000s there was a King of Puffery.

He soared into our lives as the SHAM-WOW guy.

But his tour-de-force was the SLAP-CHOP.

His name was Vince Offer, and he changed infomercials (and quite literally our lives) forever.

In the first episode of REMARKABLE, we examine his use of puffery in the SLAP-CHOP commercials and how you can use it in your B2B marketing.

Stop having a boring tuna, stop having a boring life!

Let's slap those marketing troubles away and chop up some B2B marketing and content morsels for all to enjoy.

‍Why Slap Chop?

Slap Chop is famous for its viral advertisement. The Slap Chop has proved a commercial success that has endured for more than a decade. The ad itself sold 50,000 Slap Chops from direct orders and another 50,000 to stores nationwide. Since then, it has brought in millions in sales. The commercial has also inspired remixes and spin-offs that have earned their own cult followings. We chose to cover B2B marketing lessons from Slap Chop because of how it created awareness about the product, increased demand, and showcased differentiation from the alternative - a plain old kitchen knife.

What is Slap Chop?

Slap Chop is a manual food chopping device that works by placing it over the food and “slapping” the button on the top. It’s praised for simplifying and speeding up meal preparation without the risk of a finger getting in the way.

Who is Vince Offer?

Vince Offer, born Vince Schlomi, is an Israeli television personality, actor, producer and screenwriter. Offer started selling home goods in 2006 in an effort to promote the trailer for his first film. He started by selling a super absorbent cleaning towel marketed as Shamwow and garnered praise for his performance in the infomercial. Slap Chop was his second viral product and solidified Vince Offer as a legend in the infomercial world. He’s still popularly known as “The Shamwow Guy.”

What is puffery?

Puffery is the use of exaggeration so extreme it’s unlikely to mislead its audience. Though regular exaggeration in ads could land you in trouble with the Fair Trade Commission because it’s seen as unfair or deceptive, puffery goes a step beyond. With phrases like, “Have a better tuna, have a better life,” or “Making America skinny again one slap at a time,” Slap Chop transcends false advertising because no one would believe a manual food prep tool would change their lives or make all of America skinny. Instead it adds impact and humor.

• Don’t be afraid to exaggerate. Vince uses phrases like, “Slap your troubles away,” and, “You’re going to be in a good mood all day”. He builds the expectation so high for you, but because it is such wild exaggeration - you don’t totally believe him. So when he says the smaller benefits (like your eyes watering from cutting onions), it makes it that much more believable.  
• Be excited! And show your audience you are excited! So many B2B videos are boring, stale and muted. Get excited about the content! Put some personality in it! Just imagine if Vince was replaced by Ross from Friends. Not as good, right? Okay, maybe it is as good but in a different way.
• Make a fake infomercial. Why not? Give your team 8 hours to write it. Throw ideas against the wall and see what sticks.
• ‍Paint a crazy before/after picture. The more insane and less believable the better! Before your SaaS product? Living in a birdhouse, my roommates were blue jays and I washed up in the bird bath. After buying your SaaS product? I got promoted to SVP and have a 5-bedroom house!

"There’s an opportunity to do this (for B2B companies). It’d be super interesting if I went on LinkedIn and there was a video from a technology company I follow and it was a fun, infomercial style video instead of a boring product demo…Just to engage with the audience in a different way. I think there’s an opportunity for that.” - Colin Stamps

"The cool thing about Slap Chop is the sub genre that Vince created. He blazed a trail. And because he did it first, now it's safe. So I think to follow suit and do a version of this. even imitating him, could be funny because so many people know about [Slap Chop]. So whether you're imitating him or doing your own version of it, there's a lot that can be [borrowed]." - Dane Eckerle

*[1:38] What’s the Slap Chop?

*[3:33] Who is Vince Offer?

*[3:50] The magic of infomercials

*[4:55] Why Vince Offer’s marketing technique works

*[6:23] The use of exaggeration or “puffery” in marketing

*[7:07] Remarkable Technique of the Week: Puffery. Why does puffery in marketing work?

*[8:37] How to frame the Before / After in your marketing

*[10:08] Other marketing examples of puffery in B2B and B2C

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Links

Watch the Slap Chop Infomercial

Read the Fair Trade Commission Act

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About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both non-fiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com.

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios), Dane Eckerle (Head of Development), Colin Stamps (Podcast Launch Manager), Anagha Das (B2B Content Marketing Manager), and Meredith O’Neil (Senior Producer). Remarkable was produced this week by Meredith O’Neil, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK.

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.