Back to Blogs
How to Market a Boring Product ?
Every marketer dreams of launching the next viral sneaker, lifestyle app, or luxury car. But what if your product is… office chairs? Insurance? Or, dare we say, mattresses? The truth is, “boring” products aren’t actually boring…it’s the way they’re marketed that makes them forgettable.
The good news? With the right mix of creativity, even the dullest product can turn heads. Let’s look at how storytelling, humour, education and fresh formats can change the game.
“BORING IS A MINDSET, NOT A CATEGORY”
Products aren’t inherently dull, people still need them. The challenge is that many brands lean too heavily on functional messaging (“best quality, low price”) without asking: why should anyone care?
Take the classic example of insurance. Left on its own, it’s paperwork and premiums. But when HDFC Life launched campaigns around real family moments and future security, it shifted from dry numbers to stories people could emotionally connect with. The product didn’t change, the approach did.
The most effective way to sell “boring” is to tell a story. For example, instead of highlighting a mattress’s coil count, show the story of a new parent finally getting four hours of uninterrupted sleep.
Brands like Wakefit have nailed this, using everyday humour around Indian sleep habits and relatable late-night struggles, they turned something as ordinary as a mattress into content people love sharing.
Humour isn’t just for FMCG or memes. It’s a universal way to make dry products memorable. SleepyCat, another homegrown mattress brand, tapped into quirky content around laziness, Sunday naps and “cat-approved” comfort. Suddenly, mattresses weren’t boring, they were fun.
Even in industries you’d never expect, humour works. Think of CRED’s ads: credit card bill payments aren’t exactly thrilling, but their campaigns with celebrities in absurd situations made the brand unforgettable.
Not every brand can (or should) rely on jokes. Another powerful way to elevate a dull product is education. Take Kent RO or Pureit; they didn’t just talk about filters; they ran campaigns around safe drinking water, awareness about contaminants and the importance of health.
By turning education into a value-add, they positioned themselves as trusted advisors and not just product sellers.
⇥ PLAY WITH FORMATS PEOPLE DON’T EXPECT
Sometimes, it’s not what you say but how you say it. Instead of yet another brochure or product demo, experiment with:
• Short skits on Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts
• Illustrated comics or memes around everyday life (Wakefit does this brilliantly)
• Customer diaries or testimonials told as mini-stories
• Interactive formats like polls, quizzes, or even gamified experiences
These formats break monotony and reframe ordinary products as fresh and engaging.
Marketing a “boring” product isn’t about faking excitement, it’s about finding the human angle. Whether it’s through storytelling, humour, education, or creative formats, the real win is shifting focus from product features to what those features mean for real people.
So the next time you catch yourself calling your product boring, remember: it’s not the product. It’s the story you tell.
💡 At Mirra Digital, we help brands (boring or not) find their creative spark. If your product needs a fresh perspective, let’s talk.
