Monday, August 27, 2007
In 1903 a man named Hershey went into business for himself in a small Pennsylvania town, producing thin brick chocolate bars, aptly named Hershey bars. He unveiled his simple product to the public at a party where he handed out the foil-wrapped bars to his guests.
By the time he died in 1945, Milton S. Hershey was a household name. His chocolate bar had become America’s favorite and it had risen to this height of achievement without one shred of advertising. In fact, Hershey bars went 90 years without wasting a dime on anything but their plain brown wrappers. It was not until the mid 1990’s that the Hershey Company began it’s “Unwrap A Smile” ad campaign—prior to that, Hershey bars had sold themselves by the millions per annum.
Now lets talk about 1978, when a woman named Stevens went into business for herself in the town of Wichita, producing hamburgers, gyros, and sourdough treats that to this day are supposed to “just taste better.”
What do Milton S. Hershey and Rene Stevens have in common?
Absolutely nothing!
I was born in Wichita and raised in or around its city limits until I was 18. In that time, I was probably subjected to at least a dozen Spangles advertisements a day. I’ll do the math: 12 commercials times 365 days a year times 22 years equals 96,360 commercials in my lifetime—separated between radio and television (this does not take into account leap years).
If each commercial averaged 60 seconds in duration, that means 5,781,600 seconds (two months) of my life have been spent in annoyance of the “BOP-BOP-BOP-BOP-BOP-BOP-BOP-BOP-BOP-BOP M-M-M-MUDSLIDE!” jingle.
The ads are on the radio and on television, using poorly composed 50’s parody music and rejects from the movie “Bratz” to sell the heart-unfriendly 1/3 pound Gourmet Supreme burger. A hamburger that has apparently—according to the Spangles Web site—been “voted the best burger year after year.”
The Web site neglects to say who does the voting, who runs the election and who the contenders for the title of “best burger” are, but hey, who really cares right? The commercials exploit the elderly, minors, and former Wichita State basketball coach Mark Turgeon in attempts to sell Spangles’ wares to the unfortunate public, and that’s what’s really important.
Had I the space, I would write reams on her oddly named frozen deserts. I can’t, for all my fur and whiskers, understand what is so appetizing about a natural disaster that claims thousands of lives a year in developing countries.
I don’t know much about advertising, but I do know I like Hershey bars. They never seem to impose on my life or annoy me. Spangles, on the other hand, is an establishment I won’t visit on the principle that I hate their commercials for their ability to annoy me to the point of rage.
I give Ms. Stevens kudos for her commercials’ staying power. I do know what Spangles is and where it is and how much her Gourmet Supreme hamburger costs ($2.99—a dollar less than a Double Quarter-Pounder with cheese from McDonald’s). But the fact remains that knowledge of a product does not equal desire to consume.
So, Ms. Stevens, a word of advice: cut the advertising a bit and work on quality. If your product is good then it will sell itself. Take a lesson from Mr. Hershey.
P.S.—The coffee always tastes like it’s been on the burner since Iran-Contra.
Smith is a Rose Hill graduate student in English.
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Comments
Smith: Spangles advertisement strategy has nothing on Hershey’s
"frozen deserts." I would expect this much out of a freshman, but come on... a grad student?
Smith: Spangles advertisement strategy has nothing on Hershey’s
M-m-m-m-m-m-mudslide!
Smith: Spangles advertisement strategy has nothing on Hershey’s
"If each commercial averaged 60 seconds in duration, that means 5,781,600 seconds (two months) of my life have been spent in annoyance of the “BOP-BOP-BOP-BOP-BOP-BOP-BOP-BOP-BOP-BOP M-M-M-MUDSLIDE!” jingle"
Delivers. Arguably the best line published in this paper, because I actually could hear the damn commercial when I read this.
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