Since it is Super Bowl weekend, and my favorite team is playing this year (Go Birds), I thought it would be fitting to talk about one of the most memorable Super Bowl ads in recent history. The commercial aired during last year’s big game and quickly gained traction across social media. The ad consisted of Kanye West sitting in the back of a car, saying that since he spent his entire marketing budget on the commercial slot, he had no money for production of the commercial. He then went on to promote his shoe brand Yeezy in the ad before it ended. This raw, unfiltered commercial resonated with many of the people who viewed it, sparking heavy traffic to the Yeezy website and can be watched here. According to The Economic Times, Yeezy sales spiked to $19 million dollars following the commercial, which cost Kanye $7 million.
This ad was a perfect representation of who Kanye is, which I believe helps build trust with his customers. Kanye can be polarizing at times, most recently seen by his twitter activity this past week (I would not recommend going down that rabbit hole). Kanye’s polarity is what is so enticing about his brand. People feel like they can trust him because he is unapologetically himself in everything he does and says, even if it garners him hatred online sometimes. Customers know to expect the unexpected with Kanye, and by knowing what to expect, they can build trust even if it’s a tv ad. Additionally, by being different and polarizing, Kanye can separate Yeezy from other shoe companies who repeatedly put out the same if not similar ads year after year. People want to be a part of something bigger than themself, but they also want to stand out. Kanye allows people to do this by being a unique figure who sells a product that lets people stand out simply by assimilating themself with that company.
duzx20 
Ethan David 
Aliyah Shelatz
Standing out and being different can be a great way to stand out from the competition in sales. He took a risk with all the money he dumped into the commercial and it paid off in the end with all the profits he gained from the sales. The trust aspect is also very interesting between him and the buyers.
I think that this is a great example of selling yourself in sales. Kanye has always been a “Character” but he has mastered the idea of selling one’s self as a form of marketing. He has created a strong, carefree, worldly brand and company but its all because of how grounded he is in his personality and he knows how to sell you on it. While he is largely liked for his personality and somewhat manic behavior, he is also disliked. But regardless of whether you hated the ad or loved it, you still watched it and had something to say about it. And all that public press either negative or positive, is screaming Ye’s name across the internet making you think about his brand.
Great post. I think you’ve said it well- people pay attention to what is different and formsome level of trust even if what they are expecting is the unexpected.
I think this is a really great topic to choose. I agree with you that him being polarizing actually attracts people and attention to him and can be used as a good marketing tool. Also staying true to himself definitely helps build trust (maybe it also does the opposite in his case sometimes as well). I like that the commercial was raw and unfiltered I think that also helps gain trust and attraction.