The head of marketing at smartlock app Doordeck has gained notoriety after jumping to the defence of musician James Blunt on Twitter in the aftermath of an unprompted insult ad from Magners.
An unusual back and forth between the brand and musician occurred on Tuesday afternoon (22 May). It was promptly brought to a finish by some homemade creative from Doordeck's Olly Browning.
Magners initially ran an ad featuring a half-full glass, in the empty half was Blunt's songs, in the full half, Blunt's on-point Twitter game — which conversely came back to bite the brand.
Think 100% Irish pic.twitter.com/gR0YaSbIKM
— Magners Cider (@MagnersUK) May 18, 2018
Browning having seen the slur against the crooner developed a sharp riposte ad and delivered it to Blunt.
this has been my greatest day on the internet pic.twitter.com/QVyXGNX5za
— Olly Browning (@yourolly) May 22, 2018
On the stunt, Browning opened up to The Drum, he admitted: "I spend a frankly unhealthy amount of time on Twitter... I guess I enjoy being reactive and making jokes out of stupid stuff when I see the opportunity."
With this mindset he likes to pretend he is working on the "fantastic Wendy's Twitter account," a brand no stranger to serving killer blows to critics on social media. "I just like their level of cheek and comedy."
He said the design did not take long to throw together and he received a thank you for Blunt for his efforts. "I thought it was an unofficial account at first. Then I realised it had a blue tick and was actually him, and subsequently it became one of my best moments on the internet."
Browning urged Magners not to feel any sour grapes, or sour apples. "I think I'd be flattered if I was on their account — and at least they responded to it quickly and with some humour. My original response was much crueller, so I guess they're lucky it was toned down a bit. And, if it really got them some more attention, I'm sure James and I would happily accept a crate of cider too. Just not Dark Fruit."