When Marketing Sells the Unsellable

Marketing is a tool. Like fire, it can warm a home or burn it down. At its best, strong marketing can take a product or service that genuinely improves people’s lives and put it into the hands of customers who need it.

But the reverse is also true: weak marketing often buries even the best innovations, while masterful campaigns can make fortunes for products that are, frankly, useless or even harmful.

History offers plenty of proof. Some of the most “successful” products of the last century thrived not because of inherent value but because marketers knew how to create desire, urgency, and social proof. The lesson is not that marketing is evil, but that it is powerful and that power cuts both ways.

The Invention of a Problem: Listerine and “Halitosis”

In the 1920s, Listerine was struggling. Originally sold as a surgical antiseptic, it lacked a clear market. That changed when marketers reframed ordinary bad breath as a medical-sounding condition: halitosis.

The word carried enough authority to convince the public they suffered from a problem and that Listerine was the cure. Sales exploded. A common nuisance had been medicalized, and marketing made it a household concern.

Authority Theater: Q-Ray Bracelets

Decades later, the Q-Ray bracelet swept the U.S., advertised as an “ionized” accessory that could relieve pain and improve health. Infomercials featured lab coats, scientific jargon, and dramatic testimonials.

The Federal Trade Commission later declared the claims false, calling the product “worthless.” Yet before regulators intervened, the bracelets had generated hundreds of millions in sales. Marketing, not efficacy, was the engine.

Turning Rocks Into Pets

Sometimes the genius is in the joke. In the 1970s, Gary Dahl launched the Pet Rock, a smooth stone packaged in a cardboard box with air holes and a tongue-in-cheek “training manual.”

It was pure novelty, but the witty storytelling made it irresistible. Within six months, Dahl sold over a million “pets.” Here, the packaging and narrative were the product.

A Diamond Is Forever: Manufactured Tradition

Few examples show marketing’s cultural force like De Beers. Before the 1930s, diamond engagement rings were not a universal norm.

But with the slogan “A Diamond is Forever,” the company linked love, permanence, and luxury to a shiny stone. Over decades, this idea crystallized into social expectation.

Today, many couples cannot imagine an engagement without a diamond, not because of the stone itself, but because of the story crafted around it.

Modern Spectacles: The Fyre Festival

Even recent disasters illustrate the point. In 2017, the Fyre Festival sold itself as the ultimate luxury music experience. Influencers, pristine beaches, and coordinated Instagram drops created irresistible FOMO.

The event itself collapsed spectacularly, no stages, no food, no luxury villas. But the marketing worked so well that tickets sold out before reality could catch up.

When Marketing Hurts

The most sobering example comes from cigarettes. For much of the 20th century, advertising glamorized smoking with images of rugged cowboys and cartoon camels, downplaying health risks.

Decades of research now confirm that tobacco marketing directly influenced youth uptake and brand loyalty. Here, marketing didn’t just sell the unsellable; it contributed to global health crises.

The Takeaway

These examples highlight one clear truth: marketing can make or break a product, no matter how good, or average, it actually is.

It can turn something ordinary into a must-have or let a great product fade into obscurity if the message isn’t communicated effectively. For your business, the lesson is simple:

1. Don’t underestimate storytelling, positioning, and distribution. They’re not extras—they’re what drive sales and growth.

   
   

2. Use marketing power wisely. The way you present your product shapes not only revenue, but also how customers see and trust your brand.

   
   

Strong marketing isn’t just about selling more—it’s about building lasting value for your business.