When Advertising Goes Bad

"We are MW, and we will not tone it down."

"Honk if you're not mayo"

Kraft Foods has been trying to rebrand Miracle Whip as an "edgy" condiment. A condiment appropriate for the outsider. A condiment for the young radical. 

In simplest terms, Miracle Whip is mayonnaise mixed with salad dressing making a sweeter, bolder-tasting spread that can be used in place of its more refined cousin. Developed in 1933, the new "salad dressing spread" premiered at the Century of Progress World's Fair in Chicago. According to the Kraft Foods archivist (seriously), the spread was a "instant hit". All that sugar appeals to an American palate.

By comparison, mayonnaise was invented in France in 1756 by Duke de Richelieu's chef. In 1905, the first ready-made mayonnaise was sold at Richard Hellman's New York deli and, in 1912, mayonnaise was mass marketed and called "Hellman's Blue Ribbon Mayonnaise. 

Mayonnaise has never felt the need to rebrand itself. Maybe that's the prerogative of a condiment that is a staple of French cooking and has been around for over 250 years.

Regardless of which condiment is "better", this post is about advertising and the, frankly, painful-to-experience campaign to make-over Miracle Whip (now referred to as MW).

Stacy's Deviled Eggs

Additional ads include: Drew's Sandwich, Jim's Artichoke Dip, and Debi's Potato Salad

Available on YouTube.com

The mass-produced food industry is no stranger to overwrought ad campaigns that try to convince a gullible public (usually children or young adults) that snack chips or breakfast cereal or American Cheese Food is so radical and awesome that the buyer will gain some borrowed equity of coolness by the sheer act of having it in their cupboard.

There is something so forced and "wrong" about these campaigns. Certainly, those of us who work in marketing, advertising, or business can recognize what these companies are trying to do and (hopefully) don't fall prey to the message. But, what about people who DO actually fall for it? If Kraft Foods screams it loud enough and long enough, how many people will start to believe that they'll be as provocative and cutting-edge as the MW ads imply?

There is no doubt that we all choose our brands based on the perception we wish to project. However, is it reasonable to expect people to think of Miracle Whip as a cool, radical product instead of a standard ingredient in most 1950's salad recipes?

To their credit, Kraft's 2012-2013 campaign focused on the polarizing nature of mayo versus MW. It was a very risky move. It's possible that a consumer could identify with the mayo-loving celebrity instead of the MW-loving celebrity, thus swaying them over to mayo. Although, the sheer nature of the campaign was to admit that people were already deeply entrenched in one camp or the other. If nothing else, it was a fun campaign that recognized and celebrated the "battle of the condiments" even if it didn't seem to advance the product in any significant way.

Kraft may have been better served by more directly acknowledging its roots and updating the narrative. Happy families creating new food memories with the addition of Miracle Whip would have been a lovely nod to the past while re-introducing the product to a younger audience. But, that's not the direction they chose. Perhaps because Hellman's Mayonnaise was celebrating their 100th anniversary and advertising nostalgia and recipes, MW felt that they needed to position themselves as diametrically opposed.

Either way, it's tough to make condiments interesting. Perhaps the best (and possibly the most successful) ad campaign for a condiment was Grey Poupon's "One of Life's Finer Pleasure's". These informative and slightly humorous ads transformed the Dijon mustard into a common household staple.

Grey Poupon was acquired Kraft Foods in 1999. In 2013, Kraft "updated" the original, groundbreaking ad with this version:

The 2013 ad was nominated for an Emmy award for best commercial. Kraft seems to be nothing if not predictable in their advertising approach. Funny, sure. But how does it advance the brand?

So, what brought on this little treatise? A text message that read: "Do you find Miracle Whip's insistence that it's an "edgy condiment" as bizarre as I do?" which lead to a five minute discussion of how annoying the campaign is - at least to Cassandra and me.

What camp are you in? Are you an outsider? Radical and ready to challenge the world with your bold decision to use Miracle Whip? Or are you old-skool and enjoy the refined ("boring" according to Kraft) taste of mayonnaise? As I write this, I'm eating french fries with mayo to dip. I guess you know which camp I'm in. ;)

Don't fall prey to crazy ad campaigns people! Take it from a marketing and advertising professional. Find brands you can believe in and choose your products wisely. My words of wisdom for today.

- Alex

Cream Puffs & Mad Marketing

Last Friday I took the day off for a visit to the Wisconsin State Fair. As you can imagine, we in the dairy state have the usual fair attractions: animal barns, thrill rides, deep fried anything, and the bizarre shopping experience. But there is one, glorious item that sets us apart from all the other state fairs in this great country - cream puffs.

Look at that beauty.

The cream puff building (yes it has it's own) is a destination. Fresh baked puff pastry and lightly sweetened cream straight off the farm are combined to make a the freshest dessert you've ever tasted. So simple. Not too sweet and super light.

The cream puff was born at the Wisconsin State Fair and actually has quite a history that you can read about here.

Needless to say, most fair goers want one so the lines are insane. This is where the brilliance of the State Fair organizers comes into play. They have an assembly line process that gets you through that disturbingly long line in like 5 minutes. It's amazing. Here is a little trip through the line where you can see this operation in progress:

Freshly baked puffy goodness.

Who wouldn't love working the cream puff line?

Getting the cream ready in the pastry bag.

Stop smiling for the camera and fill those shells man!

The people who work in this building are the happiest folks ever!

You'd be crazy not to maximize your dollar with the 6-pack.

We generally hit this building on our way out where we can grab a 6-pack of awesome to enjoy later. If you are lucky enough to live nearby State Fair Park in Milwaukee, you can even call ahead and have a box ready for you to pick up at their DRIVE THROUGH WINDOW. You could do this every day for 2 weeks if you wanted to. It's a State Fair miracle.

The other thing that rocks my world at the State Fair is the expo center. This is where vendors from all over come to set up a booth and sell their wall hangings of kittens polyurethaned to a piece of wood, roach clips with feathers on them, and pickles as big as your head. And, perhaps even more enticing, there are people who do demonstrations. They are really the best. It's kind of like a live, right-there-in-front-of-you infomercial!

These are the folks who burn an egg on a non-stick pan and show you how it slides off. Or maybe they shine up an old piece of silver in seconds. They are rock stars. Sponsored by a large direct-marketing company, these booths are usually slick and tacky all at the same time. Be still my kitschy graphic design heart.


Here are a few feasts for the marketing eyes:

You can actually smell the poly fabrics as you walk by this booth.

German Glue...sure, why not?

Still mad at the hubby for not buying me this.

Wow! Look at that shine!

So hi-tech!

If you are a regular reader of our blog, you will not be surprised, in the least, that my focus at the State Fair was cream puffs and tacky marketing.  :) I can barely wait until next year's fair.

–Cassandra