When circumstances seem pitted against you, you can either laugh or cry. Here’s how I learned that laughing can really pay off.

Finding Gold in the Garbage

I was shooting a global tech giant’s launch video to introduce a new, cutting-edge wireless router. The router had a cool design, sleek packaging, and the client’s product developer even looked stylish and had an engaging voice. We had all the elements to make a catchy video. Or so we thought.

One thing we hadn’t accounted for was the router’s super-long, tongue-twisting, technical name. During the video shoot, the product guy kept stumbling over the name of his device. He got more and more frustrated as he bungled the name, slapped his forehead, then laughed at his own futility. 

He finally, painfully, enunciated the full name of router, and gamely pushed through the rest of his dialogue. I groaned to myself at how awkward the final video would look.

Over the next few days, I nervously edited what was designed to be a straightforward, two-minute video. There was a lot of money invested in this launch. My stomach sank as I reviewed what was a professional but, to be honest, boring promo piece.

Needing a laugh, I watched the outtakes of the guy struggling mightily with the name. Now THIS was fun to watch. And then it hit me. It would probably be fun for others to watch, too. 

I quickly cut together a series of his frustrated, then tortured, takes on the router name. His good-natured laughter at his struggles gave a lightness to it. At the end, a link to the full product video read, “Watch Martin get it right.” This extra little 20-second video was not part of the client project, but I figured we owed it to them.

Their client loved it (whew) and gave us the green light to promote it via social media. It earned great exposure overnight on major tech industry news sites, generating much greater traffic then we could ever promise with the original video. 

I fondly remember that little production, and how leaning into the humor and relatability of the situation created some magic. Since then, I always appreciate seeing a company’s creative self-deprecation turn a sour situation sweet. 

Here’s one of my favorite examples, from the restaurant industry:

A FCK-ing Creative Response 

In 2017, KFC tried to innovate with its delivery logistics in the UK and found a new vendor. Sadly, the partnership flailed. By early 2018, most of the KFCs were running out of chicken, and customers were angry. The chain had to close 900 restaurants – a majority of its locations across the UK. On one day alone, 53,000 social media posts mentioned KFC running out of chicken, using #KFCCrisis hashtags and others. 

KFC’s response? It tossed the usual executive press release and declined to play the blame game. Instead, it embraced the failure with a serving of bold humor. 

KFC ran a full-page print ad in widely-viewed newspapers, to reach a broad swath of its customers. The ad simply showed an empty KFC chicken bucket, with a big “FCK” printed on it instead of “KFC”. Under the image it read: “We’re sorry. A chicken restaurant without any chicken. It’s not ideal. It’s been a hell of a week, but we’re making progress, and every day more and more fresh chicken is being delivered to our restaurants.” 

The upshot: KFC’s funny and humble response generated more than 700 press and broadcast mentions, delivering a total audience of roughly 800 million globally. 200 million-plus social media users were also exposed to the indelible “FCK” image. 

In a three-month span, the single print ad had leapt across media boundaries to earn a reach surpassing one billion. Besides increased brand exposure, consumer sentiment toward KFC actually rose following KFC’s gutsy response, per consumer insights provider YouGov.  

If there’s a bottom line here, it’s that some market conditions you might consider a dead end may actually help you stand out and advance.

The “Flawportunity” Formula

There’s a method to the messaging if you want to get it right.

STEP 1: Identify a clear, critical weakness that might also be useful in telling your story – this is your flawportunity. (I’ve seen this term used in fictional character development and I find it also fits in the business world.)

You flawportunity should be:

• Well-known enough that hiding it is pointless
• Difficult/impossible to fix quickly (otherwise, just fix it!)
• Not connected to safety, ethics, or core functionality
• Relatable – or even better, amusing – to your audience
• Ideally, tied to something unique about your brand 

STEP 2: Reframe the weakness. 

Turn your criticism into:

• A mark of authenticity (“Yes, we’re expensive because we use real ingredients.”)
• A badge of honor (“It is difficult. That’s what makes us special.”)
• A shared joke (“Our board game is addictive. Sorry about your late nights.”)
• A powerful differentiator (“We’re probably not for everyone. Cool.”)

STEP 3: Amplification.

Don’t dance around your flaws; showcase them creatively:

• Use specific numbers (“Our rooms are 25% smaller and 50% cheaper”)
• Create memorable visuals (a giant one-star review billboard)
• Develop catchphrases (“Slow coffee for slow mornings”)
• Give critics a platform to vent, commiserate, and laugh – but control the narrative

Measuring Impact

Here are some useful metrics to track for your bold move:

• Sentiment shift in social mentions
• Sales patterns during/after campaign
• Media coverage tone
• Customer feedback themes
• Employee morale
• Community engagement levels

Boldness, with Boundaries

Of course, with any bold move, you must navigate risk. Here are some campaign guidelines to help you avoid potential PR minefields:

• Authenticity is non-negotiable
• Humor must punch up, never down
• Keep core brand values intact
• Draw clear lines of decorum you won’t cross
• Maintain quality while embracing flaws
• Carefully monitor all channels of potential feedback, and engage quickly and consistently
• Be ready to pull back if: criticism evolves from product to ethics, employees grow uncomfortable with messaging, or consumer sentiment or media coverage turns increasingly negative

As you can see, the best response to criticism isn’t always defense; it can be creative ownership that turns critics into community. You’re not trashing your core value proposition, you’re simply showing the human, humorous side of your brand. When done right, your biggest weakness highlights your authentic strength.