The 9-figure poo pun 💩

There aren't many nine-figure businesses that were born out of a pile of shit.

Enter Poo-Pourri, the air freshener brand built for one purpose: to make your bathroom smell like something other than poo.

Founded in 2007, Poo-Pourri has made its founder, Suzy Batiz, one of the richest self-made women in the US.

But air fresheners were hardly a new invention back then. Indeed, the battle to combat turd-induced smells has endured for thousands of years. How was Poo-Pourri able to stick its brown head above the proverbial parapet?

The power of a good pun

By picking Poo-Pourri (and not a boring name, like Febreze), Batiz unlocked loads of unfair advantages that her competitors didn't have. Here are 3 of 'em:

1) Word-of-mouth. Batiz didn't actually sell in a brick-and-mortar store until 2014. She relied on word-of-mouth for the first few years. As Batiz herself said: “We don’t want to talk about our shit. We don’t want to smell it. We don’t want to face it.” Poo-Pourri shat all over this taboo.

2) Viral content. Poo-Pourri were doing branded viral content before it was cool. This ad, published on Youtube 11 years ago, has 45m views.

3) Stickiness. People remember Poo-Pourri because it's moderately humourous. It's not going to split your sides, but y'know, it's better than Air Wick or Glade.

There's something to be learned from the stupid genius of a good pun. Whole brands can be built off the back of them.

Stay stupid,

James