Like it or not, controversy sells. Remember Burger King using Sponge Bob's big butt to sell burgers? As parents objected, more and more people sought out the ad to see what all the fuss was about.
I'm sure that was Burger King's plan in the first place.
An unintentional controversy - which worked to the product's benefit - was when the first Harry Potter books came out. Some parents objected with claims of witchcraft, which drew more people to the books to see what they were complaining about. Of course, the books would most likely have been as popular without the controversy, but the news of these parents wanting the books banned backfired created a lot of extra buzz.
Can you create any kind of controversy to help your blog or business?
There is an ongoing controversy on Etsy over who was the first artist to come up with a certain kind of item (such as scrabble tile pendants); do you dare to boldly announce that you started the trend with the "original" version of your craft?
If you have a restaurant, how about inviting your competition to a good-natured challenge to a blind taste test on a similar item? Invite the press and the public. Gutsy, but sure to create controversy. And local buzz.
Is there any way you can "push the envelope" so to speak in your line of work?
A local coffee drive-thru here in Salem, is appropriately named Bikini Coffee Co: The female baristas wear bikini tops year round.
You can imagine this created some controversy - and a lot of publicity.
And a lot of business.
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