There is something endearingly cheeky about Ruslan Kogan, the founder of online retail upstart Kogan Technologies ^[1].

In June, we shared Kogan Technology’s very funny satirical advertisement for Minister Conroy’s ‘spams and scams’ internet filter ^[2]. This was not the first time we caught a glimpse of the young entrepreneur’s ^[3] sense of humour. In March 2009, his company introduced Australian consumers to the chuckle-prompting KEVIN 37 ^[4] Plasma Television set for $900.

This week, following a not-too-carefully constructed remark from business icon Gerry Harvey, who reportedly described Kogan as “a con” ^[5] to The Age,  the following commercial was aired during the highly anticipated (and highly watched) Ben Cousins’ documentary on Network Seven.

Kogan’s anti-advertising advertisement

Funny? Hypocritical? Pure viral marketing gold? That’s for you to decide. What’s more interesting about this public spat is the underlying question it raises. What drives consumers — expensive television advertisements to establish trust and, therefore, create the ability to sell products at a premium price or the opportunity to purchase online at discount rate?