Win Patagonia · 2011
A Black Friday ad telling you not to buy it
What happened
On Black Friday, Patagonia ran a New York Times page headlined 'Don't Buy This Jacket', detailing the environmental cost of its own best-selling fleece and pointing to its repair and resale programme.
Why it worked
The claim was backed by a repair infrastructure the company actually operated, so the ad read as a policy rather than a pose. Sales grew anyway.
The rule
Anti-consumption messaging on a discount date only survives if the operational commitment behind it is real and checkable.
Takeaway
Say the uncomfortable thing only if you have already built the thing that makes it true.