It’s good to see a brand have some fun these days. In an era of worry, Subaru has created a campaign that is lighthearted and entertaining in order expand its demographic reach with the Subaru Outback.

Playing off of the famed infomercials that troll late night TV, Subaru has launched “Outback Detergent” infomercials. Rather than simply touting the benefits of its SUV, Subaru practically ignores the SUV and instead, explores what kind of mess you will be in when you get home from the adventures you take in your Outback. By using its Outback Detergent you will always be able to get those crazy stains out – tree sap, cricket foam, squirrel residue, or even, quite amusingly, sweat from the crotch of your bike shorts! The infomercial is cheesy and over the top, but if you are lucky enough to catch the two-minute version, it’s worth watching. In the meantime, before you catch it on your 42″ plasma, you can check it out on YouTube. The campy commercial makes enjoyable fun out of the infomercials that drive us all crazy.

This campaign doesn’t stop with a commercial though, Subaru has also employed a SpokesSkunk, Stinky, who tends to his own microsite, www.OutbackDetergent.com. Stinky is voiced by Billy West of Futurama and Ren and Stimpy fame (yet another nod to those folks Subaru hopes to add to its demographics).

To carry this new branding campaign even farther, Subaru has not just created a campaign around a fictional detergent, but it is actually giving away the real product at its dealerships. And, for follow through in this campy campaign, it has even written the press release as though this Outback world were real.

This is an enjoyable departure from the SUV malaise!