While some may tell you that the holidays are all about good will and gifts, we all know the truth. It’s about the food!
All jokes aside, the amount of food consumed throughout the holiday season is astounding. The marketing is even crazier. In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, inboxes are flooded with recipe ideas from celebrities, markdowns on 50 lb. turkeys, and of course, exclusive deals on elastic waist sweatpants.
Over the past few decades, food and marketing have developed a surprising relationship. Reality cooking shows such as Cupcake Wars and Cake Boss have encouraged companies to slap their logo on a chocolate cake. While printing logos on cupcakes, sheet cakes and chocolate is a delicious way to promote your business, at times, marketing that involves food gets very bold, and at times, a little strange.
Branding uncommon or highly visible objects isn’t a new concept. Fluid Drive Media posted a statistic on their blog that the average person sees 3,000 to 20,000 ads a day. While some ads are hardly noticeable, such as the blue Chiquita sticker on your banana, some food marketing attempts are a little bolder. Even high profile brands such as the NBA have looked to take advantage of branding food. In a 2010 article by LA Weekly, the NBA revealed that it was looking to brand food such as toast, burgers, and pizza with various team logos. Really.
The Queensboro team found some more drastic, almost unbelievable attempts at successful food marketing. Unwind from last week’s Thanksgiving festivities with the best and worst ways people have integrated marketing with food. Here are some examples of the highly effective, versus, the highly nauseating:
Marketing With Fruit:
BEST: Calgary Farmer’s Market Apples
Calgary Farmers Market uses fresh apples to bring in new customers. Check out the original photo on Ads of the World.
Calgary Farmers Market used fresh apples to help attract new customers. The fresh apples promoted the produce available that was “fresh all winter”. While many food marketing campaigns run the risk of spoiled food, these apples remained ready to eat in the fridge-like Calgary temperatures.
WORST: Snapple Giant Fruit Pop
Snapple’s Melted Ice Pop Fiasco in New York
Apparently, Snapple didn’t get the memo about keeping fruit fresh. After attempting to construct the world’s largest Popsicle in 2005, Snapple called it off when they realized that the giant fruit pop would likely collapse. Unfortunately, the hot June temperatures took their toll, and gooey, kiwi-strawberry juice left Manhattan rather sticky. Oops!
TRY THIS INSTEAD:
Want a fresh way to market your company? Nothing will keep your clients and employees fresh like breath mints! Order mint tins personalized with your logo for a refreshing way to promote your business. They’ll love it!
Marketing with Desserts and Candy:
BEST: Rom Authentic’s “Cool American” Candy Bar Hoax
American themed Rom Candy Bar
Struggling to compete with popular US produced chocolate bars, Romanian chocolatier Kandia Dulce did something drastic to their ROM chocolate bar. In an elaborate hoax, ROM redesigned their traditional candy bar wrapper (which featured the Romanian flag) to feature the stars and stripes of the American flag. As the company predicted, Romanians were outraged, resulting in a boom in sales and social media activity for ROM. A wave of patriotism later, the company revealed that the campaign was fake. The ROM chocolate bar returned to featuring the Romanian flag on its wrapper.
WORST: “Got Milk”‘s Chocolate Chip Cookie Scented Strategy
Scented Chocolate Chip Cookie Marketing in San Fran, CA.
After creating scented advertisements to promote milk, “Got Milk” seemingly failed in creating the kind of buzz they were hoping for. Using scented oils, “Got Milk” created a chocolate chip cookie scented cardboard. The ads were installed at various San Francisco bus stops, and the scent of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies wafted through the air. However, instead of rushing out to buy milk, residents complained about the overpowering smell. The ads were removed shortly after.
TRY THIS INSTEAD:
Want to spark a craving? Leave non-traditional scents to Willy Wonka and tackle another sense. Our customized corporate logo snacks, such as our chocolate tin box with logo, will surely hit the spot for any employee or customer.
Marketing with Dairy:
BEST: “Got Milk”‘s The Breakfast Project
Salma Hayek Milk Mustache
Although “Got Milk” missed the mark with their chocolate chip cookie ads, they have continued to successfully market through- what else?- celebrity milk mustaches! “The Breakfast Project” campaign promotes starting the day with a healthy, nutritious breakfast. Not only does this campaign win for its creativity and family friendly nature, it also provides consumers with vital information that could help improve their health.
WORST: CBS on Eggs
CBS Fall Lineup on Eggs
Wisecracks aside, there’s a time and place for CBS’s weekly lineup. We’re thinking it’s in a TV Guide, but in 2006, CBS thought outside of the box, and inside of the carton. CBS, seeing the opportunity for new advertising medium, was the first network to advertise on actual eggs. Along with clever puns, the eggs featured the upcoming fall lineup, along with a trackable expiration code on each egg. As much as we like breakfast, we’re calling this one a bit of a scramble.
TRY THIS INSTEAD:
Looking for a way to stand out with promotional goods? Skip the shells and try using jelly beans! Our gourmet jelly bean candy jar with lid is egg-actly what you need.
No matter what kind of promotional food products you need, Queensboro is here to help! We have a wide selection of candy, cookies, chocolates and more! If that doesn’t make your mouth water, we don’t know what will! Follow us at @QueensboroShirt for more marketing food fun facts!
