The Weirdest Requests That Came Across Our Desks as a "Marketing Agency"

As a marketing and consulting business, we’ve worked with a wide range of clients, from highly niche services to broad, multi-product operations. Over the years, that variety has led to some pretty unexpected moments.

Today, we’re highlighting some of the weirdest requests we’ve been asked to work on, whether that’s the subject matter of the project, the type of deliverable, or the oddly specific purpose behind it. From inappropriate industries to extremely particular safety labels, these projects have definitely kept things interesting.

The Weirdest Requests That Came Across Our Desks as a "Marketing Agency":

1) The Top-Secret Supplement

One of the first projects that comes to mind felt oddly mysterious, like we were sitting on a positive secret just waiting to slip out. While creating marketing materials for a health supplement, we were told it was currently in clinical trials for curing cancer… and that we absolutely could not say that. Every instinct in our bodies wanted to highlight that exciting detail, but we understood the importance of compliance and restraint. Still, keeping that information under wraps made us feel like highly classified health agents for a bit.

2) A Very Hands-On Cow Shoot

This next one is… well, a bit off-putting to recall in too much detail. So to spare you the visuals, and as you can probably imagine, the smells, we’ll keep it brief. At one point, we filmed someone sticking their entire arm up a cow’s anus. Yes, really. And yes, there was a valid reason. It was for a Veterinary Feedyard Consultant, capturing B-roll for an overview video. Not exactly the most glamorous situation, but hey, as long as it wasn’t our arms up the chute.

3) Hoof Smell Education

Piggybacking off the farm vibes from the last story, we sometimes work with clients whose industries are far outside our own areas of expertise. When that happens, we take the time to truly learn the subject, the purpose, and the finer details so we can create accurate, impactful videos and websites. In one case, that meant learning the difference between the smell of “healthy hooves” and “infected hooves” during a video shoot. While we were grateful not to be tested on this knowledge in real life, we can confidently say it’s information we didn’t expect to add to our skill set. Fingers crossed that any future hooves we encounter smell healthy.

4) Bathroom Decals With a Purpose

One of the graphic design services we offer includes printed materials, promotional items, and decals. Most of the time, these projects are pretty straightforward. This one, however, gave us a good laugh. We were tasked with designing decals to place inside urinals to help people “aim,” tying directly into our client’s product messaging and positioning. Honestly, it was a clever idea. It just sent our team down a very unexpected design path.

5) An Unexpected Science Detour

Lab coats on (figuratively, of course), we were given the opportunity to create an animated video showing how microbial matter moves through soil to support nutrient absorption. From learning the science behind it to translating that process into clear visuals, we gained a whole new appreciation for a niche topic we hadn’t explored before. By the end of the project, we were pretty proud of both the final animation and our newly acquired knowledge of soil microbiology.

6) Stuffed Animals on Set

During one video shoot, a couple of our team members once found themselves standing outside a client’s office with their arms completely full of stuffed animals. Why? Because they were scattered around the office, and we needed a clean, distraction-free backdrop while filming a video. Was it a slightly ridiculous position to be in? Absolutely. But sometimes you do what you have to do to execute the vision. And to be fair, it was our idea.

7) The Cross-Country Van Wrap

One project that was more exciting than weird involved designing a vehicle wrap for a van driving cross-country. The goal was simple: grab as much attention as possible and drive traffic to a specific website, essentially turning the vehicle into a moving billboard. It was pretty cool knowing our design traveled across the nation. We still wonder how many people in different cities caught a glimpse!

8) A Basement With Bars

For our final, intentionally placed, maybe slightly incriminating story, we’ll never forget the time we were tasked with designing real estate flyers for a property that had an actual jail cell built into its basement. Before you ask, no, we never saw it in person and were not involved in the transaction itself. And yes, we chose not to ask too many follow-up questions. Sometimes, you just nod politely, design the flyer, and move along.

While these projects might sound unusual, they’re honestly some of the highlights of what we get to do. None of our job descriptions mention stuffed animals or livestock anatomy, but the variety and spontaneity of each new client project is what keeps things fun. Every request pushes us to think creatively, adapt quickly, and occasionally laugh at how unexpected our workdays can be. These are just a few examples of The Weirdest Requests That Came Across Our Desks as a "Marketing Agency", and weird or not, we’re always grateful for the opportunities that keep our work interesting. If your business has its own unique story to tell, we’d love to help bring it to life. Learn more about our services or start a conversation with our team at www.marketingmavenconsulting.com/contact.