Politics, food, and advertising

[altivo]

So McCain Foods, a Canadian company, has decided to take advantage of the US elections for advertising purposes. I noticed in the supermarket yesterday that they had flyers out by the freezer case where the McCain french fries are displayed, and my first thought was to wonder if there actually is any connection between Republican John McCain and fried potatoes.

As far as I can tell, there is not a connection. The food company is trying to increase its US market share, to which I have no objection one way or another, but I think the current advertising tactic is nothing less than stupid. They are running ads and distributing flyers with headlines such as "Why McCain Should be in the White House" (which actually asserts the notion that McCain products should be served at White House dinners) and "McCain Declares War for Oil" (which is actually about keeping trans fats out of their products.) Supposedly they believe that Americans will get the joke, but I honestly don't think so. They also said that they hoped Democrats wouldn't object because their packaging is blue. This seems to me to be the oddest combination of very shallow thinking and devious marketing techniques that I've ever seen. It also displays a total lack of understanding of US politics. I think McCain Foods needs to get a US advertising agency if they want to reach the US market. It's obvious that their present advisors are somewhat... lacking?

I can't remember in my lifetime seeing any commercial product that tried to ride into popularity on the coattails of a political candidate. Well, maybe one, but Jelly Belly's overpriced jelly beans really didn't come into national prominence until after Ronald Reagan had been in office for a while. I can't remember them running advertising during the election campaign that tried to take advantage of Reagan's fondness for their product.

Comments

[schnee.livejournal.com]

Who knows - maybe they're actually hoping for a controversy, figuring that there's no such things as bad publicity. Whether that's ultimately a sound strategy is another matter entirely, of course...

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Oh, I imagine they are after the controversy, as you suggest. I just think they miscalculated the degree of prejudice and irrationality that US voters put behind their political opinions. For many, this is like committing a religious sacrilege, and I don't think it is likely to increase their sales at all. Quite the opposite.

[schnee.livejournal.com]

*noddles* Yeah, but maybe they expect that to happen - and then, when there's a big uproar, they'll eat their humble pie, apologise and row back; and later on, when Joe Public is in the frozen food section of the supermarket and looking at selection of chips, he'll notice the McCain stuff - it'll stand out. And especially if he doesn't actually remember WHY they stand out to him, chances are he'll be more likely to buy them rather than a random other brand with a random name he doesn't recognise at all.

Of course, I'm not saying it's a sound strategy. :)

(BTW, we actually have McCain - the brand, not the guy - over here as well. I should go and check whether they've done anything similar, although given how unpopular McCain - the guy, not the brand - is here, I doubt it. :))

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I don't think it would have much impact in Europe at all. Certainly not a favorable impact, anyway.

The thing is, in the US, elections are now so polarized that the fighting between supporters of either side is often vicious and very immature. Throwing your product name into that nasty arena just seems dumb to me, rather than clever.

[avon-deer.livejournal.com]

McCain is Canadian?! A popular dinnertime brand here that is so well known?! This is almost as big a shock as when I found out that Kellogs were American.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

*snicker*

Kellogg was about as American as they come. He was a health food nut whose marketing skills greatly exceeded his understanding of nutrition.

I didn't know McCain Foods was Canadian either, until I decided to investigate this odd advertising tactic. McCain products have been in the supermarket here for at least two or three years, but definitely less than ten. They compete directly with Ore-Ida, which is a US based company located right across the border from them.

[margaras.livejournal.com]

The Road to Wellville is a great comedy based on an aspect of that story.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111001/

I've not heard of McCain Foods until this thing started.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

They may not be marketed in your area. It appears they are still pretty spotty in the US, and perhaps more familiar out west.

[aerofox.livejournal.com]

McCain's Junior Juice has been around at least since the early 90s. I recorded a commercial from them that has a fox in it. I should... *OMG*... get a You-tube account and upload it :P

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Doesn't furry4life let you upload video directly to them? I thought they did, but I don't do videos here. They did take photos and music as direct uploads though.