Grumpy Cat, the more-than-a-meme feline who has taken the Internet by storm with his pushed-in mug and (apparently) sardonic outlook on life, appears to have finally grumped – er, jumped – the shark. It’s easy to see the formula of Grumpy Cat’s success to date: expressive cat + mocking commentary = appealing. So it’s no wonder Grumpy Cat has amassed quite a following of fans & followers, sharing graphical commentaries like this with glee:
Grumpy Cat has become a veritable press personality, even doing in-furson meet and greets. Of course, there’s been the inevitable swag, and I don’t begrudge that – swag is an appropriate brand support mechanism. However, I feel that attempting to expand the brand into a sphere where cats have no credibility – namely, coffee – is a mistake:
Not only does this take away from the pop culture icon’s hipster factor, but it seems unlikely that Grumppuccino could have a decent chance of becoming a success. Why? People count on proven craftsmanship of coffee-making brands as the hallmarks of great coffee – values which neither align with His Grumpiness nor echo any expertise this hep cat could possibly have. I’m just not buying into the Purrista, sorry.
Yes, I get that people are grumpy before they have their coffee. And what turns that frown upside down? A hot cup of java that tastes as good as it smells (not to mention the caffeine…). Again, my apologies to the Grumpy One, and I hope this potential misstep doesn’t signal the beginning of the end for his brand authenticity.
~ @AdvertGirl, CEO, The S3 Agency
