Faulty Appliances Put People on Edge in Hilarious Goemans Campaign

The right appliances are an important, yet generally underappreciated fixture of our daily life…until they break down, at least.

A new campaign for retailer Goemans Appliances shows how a faulty fridge or dysfunctional dishwasher can turn even the most mild-mannered person into a ticking time bomb.

Developed by Toronto agency The Garden, 'Do Appliances Right' uses a combination of dark and irreverent humour to show people unleashing their pent-up anger over a broken-down appliance.

Running across TV, out-out-home and social, the campaign is intended to show how Goemans can help customers make the right choice when it comes to their appliances, without the high-pressure sales tactics and lack of expert knowledge common to the big-box retailers. Family-owned since 1978, the Ontario chain of 8 showrooms combines a singular focus on appliances with a customer-centric approach and an unbeatable selection.

“Let’s face it, shopping for an appliance at a big box store is an experience some of us would rather forget,” says Andrew Borsk, director of marketing and e-commerce at Goemans. “From having to flag down an employee in the next department over, to high-pressure sales tactics, to a lack of expert product knowledge - the whole thing puts your patience through the spin cycle.”

The campaign’s two 15-second broadcast spots feature otherwise pleasant people who are turned into curmudgeons after their appliances go on the fritz, both featuring the line 'Bad appliances turn us into bad people.'

In 'Softball,' a woman hanging laundry on her line crushes the neighbour kids’ errant softball with her bare first, while in 'Lasagna' a man who’s new to the neighbourhood swats the house-warming committee’s home-baked lasagne out of their hands. Both spots feature the line “one minute earlier,” before cutting to a shot of the person having their day ruined by a broken-down appliance.

A series of out-of-home ads continue the theme with images of everyday household appliances accompanied by headlines like 'Prevent dryers remorse,' 'Stop nuking your patience,' and 'Rinse away dishwasher resentment.'

The campaign is intended to help Goemans stand out in the crowded appliance market and distance itself from the 'price is king' positioning that’s so common to the segment by showing how its expertise and singular focus on appliances helps customers get their purchase right the first time.

“Talking about expert service isn’t exactly new, so we wanted to focus on what it means when you don’t have that expert service,” says Chris Lihou, senior copywriter with The Garden. “This campaign is an acknowledgement that bad appliances aren’t just a matter of undercooked lasagna or dirty silverware - they can lead to festering frustrations that boil over at inopportune times, affecting our friends, our family and even our well-meaning neighbours.”