Weber's Campaign for Grill Decency

I've been waiting patiently to post this on Men in Aprons, as my skepticism held the "post" button in check. Weber has a new buzz marketing ad campaign called The Campaign for Grill Decency. By joining up as a "Secret Agent," you have the power to call out your friends and family for their "crappy" grills and win them over the the good side and convince them to purchase a Weber.

Becoming a secret agent allows you to write stories of the crappy grills you've seen and post your comings and goings as an Agent of Weber. The best agents are those that convert people to the Weber way and post those details on the site. You get special ranks for the more people you convert.

I've been skeptical because I heard that by joining you get a secret agent package complete with a silicone grill brush and a bunch of campaign paraphrenalia and propaganda. It took a few weeks, but the package finally arrived. I swear I heard someone say "good morning, angels."

Inside it came a silicone basting brush with a brushed nickel handle, very sturdy. Inside a black, unassuming folder there is a bunch of stickers, bumper stickers, and an official Secret Agent ID card. Very fancy.

So Weber has latched on to what many other companies are doing: internet buzz marketing. Get the consumer to sell your product for you rather than pay for a multi-million dollar ad campaign. I'm not trying to be facetious, really. I'm just playing devil's advocate. So what does a person really get for doing Weber's work? Not much. It's just a fun way to promote a good brand and do a little bit of social networking on the web.

Incidentally, I will not be participating in this campaign. While I believe that Weber's kettle grills and Smokey Mountain are superior, I cannot say the same about their gas grill line. Sorry.