Family Feuds

The only thing I love more than a showdown between brands is advertisers who play with, and even fuel, the feud. When brainstorming for this post, I had to actively stop thinking of good feuds to write about. Of course, there’s the world famous Coke vs Pepsi fight (by the way, props to Pepsi for the new “Summer Time is Pepsi Time” ads. Love ‘em. If you’re looking for more reading check out this Wall Street Journal article or this Brand Channel article, which discusses the social media buzz that amplified the campaign). But I wanted to take a minute to discuss my two new favorite brand feuds-one that you may know of, and another which may have passed right by without you noticing. I began this as one post, but my musings went on for so long, that I’ve decided to split it into two installments. Today’s Feud:

Miracle Whip vs. Mayonnaise

Technically this isn’t a feud between brands, but name all of the Mayonnaise brands you know. Exactly. I even googled it and only found one other mayo brand-Best Foods. It looked familiar-blue label with white lettering- so I did some sleuthing and found at that they’re the exact same thing, they’re just branded differently west of the rockies. Anyways, I digress.

My point is that this really is a brand feud, and may I say BRAVO KRAFT/MIRACLE WHIP. I LOVE these commercials. They identified the feud, they brought it to the public in hilarious, relatable TV commercials, they urged consumers to take a side, and they created multiple spaces in which people can “Join the Debate”. It’s fully integrated with all of their social media platforms. They even have a new campaign & sweepstakes asking customers to share how Miracle Whip affects their relationship (you can win $25,000 towards your wedding or divorce). Before I keep going, check out the TV commercials below.

I love how bold these are. The Pauly D commercial was the first I saw, and he’s talking about how much he HATES miracle whip. I haven’t been alive that long, and maybe I haven’t been paying attention to marketing campaigns for that long, but has there ever been another brand that did this? If you know of one, PLEASE tell me about it in the comments below, cause I would love to see it. This was such a bold move, that I’m planning on buying Miracle Whip next time I go to the store (my Midwestern relatives will rejoice).

I’m also glad they’ve integrated the campaign so heavily with their social media platforms. There have been 31 comments on their Facebook wall, just today. They’ve only responded to 1, which, having managed a client’s page at an internship, I’m a little disappointed with, but they’re much more engaged with followers on Twitter, which makes up for it in my mind (it probably doesn’t make up for it in their Facebook fans’ minds, though).

In sum, the ad did what it was supposed to do. I’m printing my coupon and heading to Shaws.