Current Events in Marketing
Macho food marketing continues with ‘beer beans’
Published January 31, 2014
The quest to appeal to a certain demographic with your food product can take you to some odd places. Late last year brought us “powerful yogurt,” one company’s attempt to turn a food publicly associated with women into something more far reaching. Now we have candy that’s going after that same market of burly, beer-and-hot-sauce-swilling men. But is it necessary? Because … Read more »
Awareness campaign seeks to reverse negative pit bull stereotypes
Published January 29, 2014
In popular media, pit bulls are often shown as burly warriors, specially bred denizens of a canine warrior class far removed from the sorts of dogs that friendly individuals or families would ever own. In some ways, this depiction makes sense: they are undoubtedly a powerful breed, a fact which leads some unscrupulous folks to raise them poorly. However, any misdeeds thereby committed are solely the … Read more »
Pizza Hut confirms ‘fast casual’ is the trend to follow
Published January 27, 2014
Last year, we had the news that chicken mainstay KFC was changing its look to go after younger consumers with a “fast casual” model. For the uninitiated, that includes a relaxed decor, clean surroundings, and offerings that emphasize health-conscious food or, at the very least, variety and freshness. So perhaps it’s not that surprising that Pizza Hut, another American fast food … Read more »
Lululemon tries to recover from bad press
Published January 24, 2014
In a way, it’s fitting that Lululemon is well-known for it’s yoga pants, because the company is bending over backwards to repair its image after a PR flap. Last year, the company had something of an image nightmare on its hands, with quality problems concerning its athletic gear compounded by public statements seemingly blame the customers who were wearing them. The combination of a poor … Read more »
‘Lost a bet’ campaign suffers from jarring contrast
Published January 23, 2014
If there’s ever been a better illustration of the importance of tone in your advertising, it can be seen in a new anti-gambling campaign. The Ohio Lottery Commission is apparently trying to step things up to spread the word about the dangers of gambling addiction, but its video strategy may seem a little misshapen to some. One of the videos leading this initiative starts out mock-serious, with … Read more »