I’m not quite sure if this advertising campaign is genius or completely misses the (skid) mark.

Andrex – the soft, strong and very long-standing bog-roll brand has decided to spark a debate on the nation prefers to wipe its bottom after a visit to the loo. Yes, we all do it (even the Queen) but I’ve got to admit that I’ve never actually pondered on whether I’m a Scruncher or a Folder.

The following YouTube video sets the tone of the campaign:

Now there have been some great campaigns over the year based around debates, from the unforgettable Marmite “love it or hate it” ads to the more recent KitKat Chunky Champion campaign which asks people to cast their vote on which limited edition variation should gain permanent presence on newsagents’ shelves…

BUTT… is Andrex’s Scrunch or Fold campaign a step too far? Do you really want to think about how other people choose to deploy their toilet paper? Really?

At first I thought it was just a piece of silliness resigned to play out on Andrex’s YouTube channel until I saw that this campaign had been rolled out on Facebook and Twitter too.

In fact their website’s homepage has had a Scrunch or Fold vote takeover with mandatory infographic to boot – just in case you needed to know detailed demographic breakdown of who Scrunches and who Folds. I sh*t you not…

Apparently the debate has spilled out onto Twitter (and at the time of posting, most Tweets are talking about how distasteful the campaign is:

Tweets about “#scrunchorfold”

Is this an example of a badly thought out try-hard campaign or is it by design a cheeky stunt to refresh an otherwise safe brand and move it away from its puppy-dog heritage? What are your thoughts? Has Andrex hit a bum-note with it’s Scrunch or Fold debate?