Not playing by the so-called rules can be very effective in marketing. When brands break expectations, challenge industry norms or even lean into their perceived weaknesses and flaws, they often come out ahead. This is the power of counterintuitive marketing—proving that sometimes doing the wrong thing can be so right.

A dear friend of mine once owned a pub in Oxfordshire that garnered a review so brutal it would have crushed a lesser man. A critic labeled his establishment “The Worst Pub in England.” But instead of hiding his head between his legs or revamping his concept, my friend plastered the insult everywhere. Posters. Coasters. The back of the menu. “Welcome to the Worst Pub in England,” it proclaimed with pride. The result? The place was beloved. The curious and the thirsty flocked there in planes, trains and automobiles…and private helicopters. Turns out, people love a brand with a sense of humor, a bit of swagger, and—let’s be honest—the audacity to flip a middle finger at convention.

This is the very essence of counterintuitive marketing: throwing out the rulebook, leaning into your weaknesses, or even openly mocking your own customers. It shouldn’t work, yet it often works brilliantly. Many successful brands today have zigged while others zagged—and have been rewarded handsomely for it.

The Psychology Behind Counterintuitive Marketing

Traditional marketing follows a set of well-worn rules be likable, be trustworthy, don’t rock the boat. But in today’s oversaturated, algorithm-driven world, safe is invisible.

Expectation Violation Theory explains why brands that break norms grab attention. Consumers anticipate a specific kind of corporate behavior, and when a brand completely defies that expectation, they take notice. Studies show that surprise increases engagement by up to 400 percent compared to predictable content.

It’s the marketing equivalent of the banana peel. Banana peel? What? Stay with me. Remember all those cartoons from when we were kids where some famous pants-less varmint would toss a banana peel in the path of its nemesis to cause him to slip and fall? What was so funny about that? Mishaps should NOT be funny. But often they’re hilarious. Spend a little time on YouTube and you’ll see what I mean. It’s counterintuitive. And it works. Mostly.

Take Ryanair. Most airlines handle customer complaints with robotic apologies and corporate doublespeak…or ignore them entirely. Ryanair? They mock customers to their faces—and it’s making them Europe’s most profitable airline.

When a customer tweeted, “Ryanair, I have never known such a shambles,” the airline responded with a picture of the customer’s tweet printed out, taped to the cockpit wall. Instead of outrage, the result was nearly 20 million views, tens of thousands of likes, and a spike in brand engagement.

This wasn’t a one-off stunt—it’s a core part of their brand strategy. They’ve clapped back at passengers who complain about tight legroom with “You paid £9 for this flight—what did you expect?” and responded to accusations of poor service with memes of flight attendants rolling their eyes. They even ran an ad boasting that 89% of customers arrived on time—while casually asking if the other 11% “really mattered.”

They don’t grovel, they don’t sugarcoat, and they certainly don’t pretend to be something they’re not. Instead of promising luxury or hospitality, they double down on their cheap and nasty reputation—because their customers aren’t looking for hand-holding. They’re looking for the lowest possible price. And Ryanair has made it clear: if you want that, shut up and take your seat!

The lesson? If your product delivers, you don’t have to fake niceness. Own what you are, and let your audience self-select.

Why Playing It Safe Is Riskier Than Breaking the Rules

Conventional wisdom says to avoid controversy, but today’s market punishes blandness. More than 75 percent of Gen Z consumers prefer brands with strong personalities—even if that personality is divisive.

When KFC ran out of chicken in the UK—a PR catastrophe if ever there was one—most companies would have issued a dry, corporate apology. Instead, KFC ran a full-page ad with their bucket logo rearranged to say “FCK.”

The ad won multiple industry awards, but more importantly, it defused customer outrage. Instead of spiraling into crisis mode, KFC turned the story into a laughable hiccup—and their sales recovered within weeks.

Compare this to brands that take themselves too seriously. Remember United Airlines’ PR disaster after forcibly dragging a passenger off a plane in 2017? They released a sterile, impersonal apology, and their stock plummeted.

The Power of Leaning Into the Hate

Some brands try to please everyone. Others realize that polarization is a strategy. (It certainly seems to work in politics these days.)

Take Marmite. The salty, yeasty spread has always been divisive—so instead of convincing haters to love it, they embrace their “love it or hate it” identity. They even once ran a “Marmite Rescue” campaign, which took its love-it-or-hate-it branding to the extreme, featuring a mock rescue team raiding homes to save neglected jars like abandoned children. The ad sparked both outrage and laughter, but controversy drove engagement, and engagement drove results—boosting sales by 14% while reinforcing Marmite’s identity as a brand that thrives on division.

Consumers don’t just buy products. They buy identity. And nothing builds loyalty faster than giving your audience an “us vs. them” narrative to rally behind.

Turning Disaster Into Opportunity

Failure is inevitable. What matters is how you react to it.

Peloton learned this the hard way in 2019 when they released a holiday ad featuring a woman receiving an exercise bike from her husband. The ad was meant to show a thoughtful gift, but instead, it came off as a tone-deaf—a husband putting his wife on a forced fitness regimen. The internet ruthlessly mocked it, with viewers calling it sexist, creepy and out of touch. Memes flooded social media, late-night hosts ripped it apart, and Peloton’s stock dropped nearly 10% overnight.

Aviation Gin, however, saw an opportunity. Within 48 hours, Ryan Reynolds’ brand hired the same actress to star in a response ad. This time, she sat blank-faced in a bar, chugging a stiff gin cocktail while her friends reassured her, “You’re safe now.” The internet went wild. It was the perfect counterpunch—hilarious, fast, and brilliantly capitalizing on Peloton’s misstep. The ad racked up 7 million views in a week, and Aviation Gin’s sales surged.

The lesson? Speed kills—or saves. Brands that react quickly and cleverly can hijack a PR disaster—even when it’s not their own—and turn it into an asset.

Rewriting the Rules 

I’ve spent much of my career attempting to make food look scrumptious in TV ads. Then Burger King goes ahead and does what no fast-food brand had ever dared: they made a burger look disgusting. The Moldy Whopper campaign featured time-lapse footage of a Whopper rotting and covered in mold. The point? To highlight that Burger King had eliminated artificial preservatives. The ad was repulsive. And it worked.

Brand perception jumped 8.4 percent. The campaign won the Cannes Lions Grand Prix. More importantly, it forced competitors like McDonald’s to speed up their own ingredient reformations. The takeaway? Sometimes the ugliest truth is more effective than the prettiest lie.

When Counterfeits Become a Marketing Opportunity

Luxury brands fight counterfeits tooth and nail. Diesel did the opposite. Instead of suing knockoff street vendors in New York’s Canal Street, Diesel opened a fake store called “Deisel”—selling real Diesel products at fake prices. Shoppers thought they were buying counterfeit goods. They were actually getting real Diesel at a discount. 

The result? The entire store sold out in days, earned millions in free media as the world became delighted by the strategy, and reinforced Diesel’s image as a rebellious, street-smart brand.

How to Pull It Off

Breaking the rules in marketing isn’t about being reckless—it’s about being strategic. Counterintuitive campaigns work when they challenge assumptions in a way that feels authentic, calculated, and true to the brand. But pulling it off takes more than just a bold idea. It requires knowing which norms to challenge, how far to push without alienating your audience, and how to sell the vision internally. Here’s how to execute a counterintuitive marketing strategy without turning it into a PR disaster—or worse, getting shut down before it even launches.

Step 1: Identify a sacred cow in your industry—and challenge it.
What does your industry take as gospel that could be turned upside down? If everyone is doing one thing, there’s an opportunity in doing the opposite. Diesel could have called the lawyers but instead launched their “Go With the Fake” campaign.

Step 2: Develop a brand voice that’s fearless, not reckless.
There’s a fine line between bold and obnoxious. If you’re going to break the rules, your brand’s personality needs to back it up. Ryanair could have played it safe, but their no-frills reputation made their blunt, sarcastic social media strategy a perfect fit.

Step 3: Get executive buy-in.
Executives love data. Counterintuitive strategies feel risky, but case studies can prove that the right risk can deliver massive rewards. KFC could have issued a standard PR apology, but instead, they approved the “FCK” campaign—and turned a disaster into an award-winning moment.

Step 4: Test before going all-in.
Not every brand can pull off sarcasm or shock value. Before making a big bet, test the waters to see how your audience reacts. Burger King could have just announced its preservative-free menu, but it tested the Moldy Whopper campaign first to ensure the message landed.

Step 5: Play the long game.
A one-off bold move looks like a stunt. A pattern of bold moves builds a brand. Marmite could have tried to win over its haters, but it committed to its “Love It or Hate It” positioning and built a brand that thrives on division.

Fortune Favors the Bold

Most brands are terrified of controversy, criticism, or breaking convention. But as these examples prove, doing the unexpected isn’t just a gimmick—it’s a strategy.

Whether it’s mocking your own customers, celebrating your flaws or flipping traditional messaging on its head, the boldest brands get noticed, talked about, and, most importantly, bought.

Sources: Harvard Business Review, McKinsey, Marketing Week, Campaign Live