We know that putting a product in the hands of someone the masses adore can do wonders for sales. Perfectly logical.

Putting a product in the hands of someone the masses detest could therefore potentially hurt sales. Perfectly Logical.

But! Can putting a competitor’s product in the hands of someone the masses don’t trust help your sales? That is some next-level double-reverse marketing trickery right there.

Word from TechTalk is that luxury brands have already started experimenting with this technique. Their test subject? Everyone’s favorite public nuisance and walking fashion faux pas, Snooki, of Jersey Shore fame. Brands have been gifting her with their competitor’s handbags…in hopes of selling more of their own.

We here at Post Ad are generally against product placement. It’s overt, and usually pretty tasteless. But this is perhaps the most impressive and unique approach to product placement ever. It’s anti-product placement.

But couture companies should be careful who they mess with. This could blow up in their face. As far as test subjects go, Snooki is a good one, because she is perceived as trashy. But beware the collapse of all high-low culture barriers and boundaries! While she may not be an arbiter of tastes, she does seem to be, in a strange way, somewhat beloved.

Image via Gucci