In case you haven’t heard, Kermit and Miss Piggy broke up.

I know, I know.  You thought pigs would fly before a pig would break up with a frog.  But it’s true.  One of the most non-traditional couples on the planet have called it quits.

And the world is obsessed, especially since the geniuses behind this Muppetary marketing move have already leaked photos of Kermit with a hottie little piglet named Denise.  Not only has social media exploded but the traditional media went crazy along with it . . . all in advance of the new Muppet TV series on ABC this fall.

So what about this story worked so well?  And how can you use it when looking for ways to market your shows?

Here are three reasons why everyone is talking Muppets:

1.  ALL WE NEED IS LOVE

Give me an example of a play, movie, or book that doesn’t involve a love story.  From The Godfather to The Phantom of the Opera to Oedipus Rex to yep, The Muppets . . . all great tales involve a major romance.  We love love.  Food, air, water, love.  Human beings crave it in our lives and in our entertainment.  Tell us a story about a great love, and we’re in.  Why?  Because we all want one.

2.  EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

Kermit and Miss Piggy have been together so long that it was just a given that they’d stay together, right?  In fact, it was so much a given, that it got boring.  So the Muppet Masters shook it up and shook us to the core. “What???  They broke up???  But they can’t!  They’re the Muppets!”  I’m sure fans around the world said those sorts of things . . . and I’m sure several staffers at Muppet Headquarters said the same thing when this was first proposed. And I bet several others laughed at the thought.  Kudos to whomever came up with this idea, and fought through the resistance to get it done.  When someone laughs at one of my ideas, or says that it “can’t be done,” that’s when I dig in a little more to make it happen.  Give people the unexpected and expect them to talk about you.

3.  COMMENT ON OUR CULTURE

A day doesn’t go by without a celebrity couple announcing their separation (Jon Hamm and Jennifer Westfeldt did so just yesterday).  And it’s always water cooler chat, right?  Heck, I even worked the Jennifer Aniston/Brad Pitt relationship into a show.  The Muppeteers capitalized on this phenom and used it for their own good . . . and it’s just funny.  I half expected Denise to be Kermit and Miss Piggy’s nanny (right, Ben Affleck?).  You can use what’s happening in current pop culture to your advantage by piggy-backing on their story (no pig-pun intended).  Actually, wait a minute . . . I’m doing it right now by writing a blog about a subject that everyone’s talking about, aren’t I?  Cheeky me.

This story is one of my favorite marketing stunts of the year . . . for any brand, especially since it cost them a big fat nothing.  It was just creative.  And smart.  Which then makes me think the show is creative . . . and smart.  And makes me want to tune in.  To the damn Muppets!

I’m not going to, though.  Instead, I’m going to spend that hour trying to come up with a way to do something like this for my own shows.

And you should too.

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