Marketing Prank Reveals the Real Target: All of Us

The news called it a “prank” at the time, but it wasn’t technically a prank at all. Rather, a spotlight of the human capacity to deceive oneself. After all, the unfamiliar Palessi shoe boutique did sell real shoes, and their fawning grand opening party guests did get to attend the party they were promised. The only prank? The unfamiliar brand was quite familiar indeed.  

It turns out Palessi was a front for a more…mainstream…brand: Payless Shoes. To break their stereotype as a low-cost, anything-but-premium brand, they had cameras rolling as fashion “influencers” oooed and ahhhed over their shoes, and willingly paid hundreds of dollars to take each pair home.

Then, the stunt was up. The party guests were looped in on the fun: the shoes they just bought were made by Payless. Their price? $35.

As the shock and awe ensued, so did the feeling of being duped. Not by a group of savvy marketers, but by oneself. All the trappings – the plush carpet, finger foods, and well-heeled guests — convinced the group of self-proclaimed fashionistas that the affordable footwear was worth many multiples of its actual sticker price.

The well-known mall brand let the duped guests keep their shoes, while refunding their foolishly spent funds. The only thing that wasn’t returned? Their pride.

The marketing stunt exposed more than just a group of self-assured tastemakers. It reminds us all of the power of marketing, and the fact that we are the target. (Watch clips from our episode on marketing tactics, You are the Target, here.) 

It’s easy to convince ourselves that a fad, gadget, or app is quality when so many around us are saying the same thing.

But sometimes, the mystique is nothing but mania.