Food Marketing Strategies
Posted by ryan / Tuesday, April 26th, 2011
With the exception of the Super Bowl, I’m not a big fan of television advertising. I don’t usually watch one of my favorite shows without recording it first. However, sporting events should almost always be watched live, especially if you care about the team involved. Sitting through the commercials becomes a necessary evil, but most breaks are relatively short.
Companies are given a limited amount of time to get your attention. Most use that time to market their product by showing how great it is. I see nostalgic and futuristic spots all the time that try to appeal to a certain demographic. These are normally well-done, but I don’t pay attention to all of them. I’m susceptible to some, but there’s only so much one can care about.
This new McDonald’s commercial was fairly effective, especially after they announced likely inflation. Damage control had to be done. They managed to prove their worth by showing longevity and consistency. I would prefer to go there for breakfast, but I was impressed with their ability to appeal to multiple generations nonetheless.
What’s caught my eye recently are the self-deprecating and brutally honest ads that some companies have been choosing to go with. Maybe shock value or humility is the point, but I still have to wonder why they would do such a thing. I know I’m discussing them like they made an impact on me, but I’m in no rush to spend any money.
Dominos Pizza comes to mind in this regard. Its strategy for the last year or two has been admitting how terrible their product was in the past, and promising to improve in the future. They continue to apologize for sub-par food, asking customers for any negative feedback. While I’m sure they’re hoping for more positivity, the spokesmen don’t seem very optimistic.
In this most recent one, they explain how much better their chicken has become. After discussing the quality, the CEO states his intentions to poll the opinions of the customers. The cook loses all confidence afterward when he says, “I’m not excited about the box.” This isn’t the best example, but you get the idea.
This last one actually inspired me to write this blog post. While it’s obviously more of a joke, I don’t really understand the humor. Miracle Whip seems to know all to well that their mayonnaise substitute isn’t for everyone. They paid one of the more popular members from the cast of Jersey Shore to say how much he despises it. So much so that he would consider it a “deal breaker” if an attractive girl liked it. I don’t particularly enjoy Miracle Whip either, but I wouldn’t say that I’ve “picked a side.” Something like this isn’t going to inspire me to try it again any time soon.
It doesn’t make sense, but that’s just my humble opinion. What do you think?
-Ryan Robertson
Tags: advertising, DJ Pauly D, Dominos, food, McDonald's, Miracle Whip