Your Brand Is Too Polite — And That’s Why No One Cares

Somewhere between the tone-of-voice deck and the fourth round of revisions, your brand became… nice.

Not bold. Not original. Just nice.

It’s “approachable,” “authentic,” and “human.” You stand for community, creativity, and innovation. You’re using soft pastels, gentle gradients, and a warm, lowercase logo. You’re friendly, you’re consistent, and you are—like many brands right now—deeply forgettable.

The truth? In 2025, most branding isn’t bad. It’s just safe. Safe to the point of invisibility.

Designed to offend no one and, in doing so, connect with no one. And while it may pass every internal review, it fails the only test that matters: Will anyone remember it?

Bland isn’t a brand

This isn’t a lack of effort. It’s a fear of friction. Too many brands are terrified of being the weird one in the room—so they round off their edges, write their copy like they’re walking on eggshells, and end up sounding like everyone else.

When you try to appeal to everyone, you build for no one.

The brands people love don’t feel neutral. They feel specific. They take up space. They risk being misunderstood. They have taste—and more importantly, they make decisions.

Think about it: Liquid Death sells canned water with the tone of a metal band. Oatly writes like its social media manager is one existential crisis away from quitting. Vacation turned sunscreen into an aesthetic time machine. MSCHF drops products that feel more like performance art than commerce.

None of them are trying to be liked by everyone. And that’s exactly why they are.

So what do you do?

You get honest. You get sharper. You stop trying to sound “cool” and start sounding clear. You stop polishing until there’s nothing left. You write a brand story that has tension. Stakes. A point of view.

If your brand voice can be swapped with three of your competitors by changing the logo, it's not a brand—it's a template. So ditch the politeness. Cut the charm and say something interesting.

Now. Let's take a look at some awesome creative takes on bold advertising.

Andrex: Get Comfortable

The Andrex “First Office Poo” campaign is a masterclass in what we keep preaching: ditch the politeness, embrace the discomfort, and say something worth remembering.

Most brands would rather wrap themselves in pastel clichés and vague “wellness” vibes when it comes to taboo topics. Not Andrex. They saw an insight — that people are weirdly terrified of pooping in public — and instead of glossing over it, they leaned all the way in. Fart sounds, awkward walks, unclenched taglines — this isn’t just about toilet paper, it’s about emotional liberation.

Liquid Death: Corpse Paint

This campaign worked not despite its absurdity — but because of it. A punky canned water brand and a Gen Z-favorite makeup line teaming up for a coffin-shaped makeup set? Ridiculous on paper. Genius in execution. It sold out in under an hour, fueled by a perfect storm of cultural fluency: coffin-core packaging, corpse-paint aesthetics, Julia Fox-level street chaos, and social-ready visual punch.

But here’s the real lesson: Most brands are still chasing “synergy” and “shared values” — the safe, sensible approach. Liquid Death and e.l.f. understood that absurdity is its own form of relevance. They didn’t just slap logos together; they co-created a cultural moment that was designed to disrupt the scroll, spark conversation, and invite the audience to play.

Nike “Winning isn’t for Everyone” ad (2024)

The Nike “Rise of the Uncompromising” campaign works because it refuses to play nice — and that’s exactly why it cuts through. While most sports brands celebrate teamwork, positivity, and the triumph of the human spirit, Nike boldly leans into the raw, darker edge of greatness: obsession, ruthlessness, selfishness. It’s a risky, provocative move that challenges the audience to confront the uncomfortable side of ambition — and whether you love it or hate it, you remember it. That’s the power of a brand unafraid to provoke, to polarize, and to tell a story with sharp teeth instead of soft edges. In a world where too many brands tiptoe around friction, Nike shows that risk isn’t just part of the game — it’s how you win attention.

Now what?

We’ll leave you with this: in a world overloaded with sameness, the brands that win aren’t just the ones making noise — they’re the ones making choices. Bold, strange, maybe even uncomfortable choices. So here’s the question we’ll leave hanging in the room: when the dust settles and the scroll moves on… what will they remember about you?

Thank you for spending time at the Trend Desk