The Useless Product Challenge: A Snow Day Experiment
Today is another e-learning (read: barely-learning) snow day for my kids, which means an abysmal amount of actual schoolwork. [Side note: No shade to the teachers—I can’t imagine the challenge of whipping up a digital curriculum on the fly.]
To preempt the inevitable “Can we play Xbox?” and “Can I have my iPad?” requests on repeat, I decided to give them something else to focus on. Enter: The Useless Product Challenge. (Shoutout to ChatGPT for the assist.)
The Challenge:
Objective: Create a marketing campaign for a completely useless or ridiculous product and convince people they need it.
Instructions:
Invent a Useless Product
Come up with something totally unnecessary, impractical, or just plain weird (e.g., Pre-Cracked Eggs or Invisible Socks).
Define the Target Audience
Who would actually buy this? And why? (Serious or absurd answers welcome.)
Craft a Marketing Message
Create a catchy slogan.
Define the key selling points—exaggeration encouraged.
Create an Advertisement (Choose one or more)
A 30-second video ad (filmed on their phones or storyboarded).
A social media ad (mockup of an Instagram or TikTok post).
A fake Amazon product page with hilarious reviews.
A jingle or theme song.
What’s the Point?
First, to avoid endless YouTube scrolling and the “ON YOUR SIX!!” battle cries of online gaming while I attempt to work.
But also, I want them to see how marketing works—on them. How brands create demand for things they don’t really need. How messaging, design, and psychology all come together to sell an idea. And, most importantly, I want them to realize that marketing is actually really fun. It’s about creativity, persuasion, and storytelling.
TL;DR: My kids learn best by doing. This is my way of showing them how fun marketing can be—while also helping them recognize when they’re being sold to.