Richard Neill probably never thought his comment on Oct. 8 to the Facebook page of Bodyform, purveyors of feminine hygiene products, would been seen—much less read over and over again.
His comment, which took issue with a Bodyform commercial, didn’t take long to go viral. But it was the brand’s response that has marketers raising a collective eyebrow.
Here’s the entire comment:
“Hi , as a man I must ask why you have lied to us for all these years . As a child I watched your advertisements with interest as to how at this wonderful time of the month that the female gets to enjoy so many things ,I felt a little jealous. I mean bike riding , rollercoasters, dancing, parachuting, why couldn't I get to enjoy this time of joy and 'blue water' and wings !! Dam my penis!! Then I got a girlfriend, was so happy and couldn't wait for this joyous adventurous time of the month to happen .....you lied !! There was no joy , no extreme sports , no blue water spilling over wings and no rocking soundtrack oh no no no. Instead I had to fight against every male urge I had to resist screaming wooaaahhhhh bodddyyyyyyfooorrrmmm bodyformed for youuuuuuu as my lady changed from the loving , gentle, normal skin coloured lady to the little girl from the exorcist with added venom and extra 360 degree head spin. Thanks for setting me up for a fall bodyform , you crafty bugger.”
The brand’s response? A brilliant video featuring one Caroline Williams, Bodyform's fake CEO, who takes the comment at face value and responds in a deadpan English accent.
In it, Williams takes the same tongue-in-cheek approach as Neill.
Mashable and
Gawker (among others) picked it up, leaving brands wondering how they can go above and beyond when responding to some of the most ridiculous fan comments out there.