Brands in the News: POM Wonderful and Sun Chips

Two brands in the news today:

1) POM Wonderful vs the FTC



POM Wonderful has gone on the attack against the FTC. One week after being sued by the commission for making false health claims, POM's Lynda Resnick says that the official who made the accusation has gone "crazy" on the issue and is a "zealot." "The whole food industry is being bullied by the FTC and FDA," she went on to say. Coinciding with this lambasting, POM has launched a new ad campaign, replacing the one that the FTC had objected to. Although it does not repeat the same claims, it comes up with another provocative angle--the implication that POM will improve your sex life. The ad above features Sonja Kinski, daughter of Nastassja, as a naked Eve tempted by a serpent with a pomegranate replacing the apple. This battle looks set to go on for quite a while. Stay tuned.

2) Sun Chips grounds it "noisier-than-a-jetfighter-cockpit" bags

I have written before about how above-and-beyond Sun Chips had gone to reinforce its green credentials. From its name to its manufacturing process, Sun Chips has definitely been paying more than lip service to the environment. Unfortunately, its boldest initiative has crash-landed--its fully compostable packaging which looked like it had the potential to transform consumer packaging, is going to be pulled off the market. The problem: noise pollution. The new packaging was so incredibly loud, it had been compared to the noise inside the cockpit of a jet fighter and had inspired its own Facebook page.

Brands with Problems: Apple, Butterfinger and Arizona Iced Tea

This may or not be a new series. We'll see. For now, it just a one-off collection of stories I read last week showing different problems for different brands:

1) Apple Problem: Being judged by who you once were, not who you are today
Part of what makes Apple Apple is the legendary 1984 Super Bowl ad which symbolized its status as an underdog fighting against powerful Big-Brother-like conformity. Apple has long since outgrown its underdog status yet this is still a part of its DNA. It usually benefits from this association but not always. As you can see in this clip from The Daily Show, Jon Stewart uses Apple's former underdog status to frame his attack on the company following the police raid on Gizmodo editor Jason Chen’s house (after he got his hands on the new iPhone).

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Appholes
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

Key quotes:

“You guys are busting down doors in Palo Alto while Commandant Gates is ridding the world of mosquitoes. What the f**k is going on?”

Apple you guys were the rebels man, the underdogs. People believed in you. But now, are you becoming The Man? Remember back in 1984, you had those awesome ads about overthrowing Big Brother? Look in the mirror, man!

2) Butterfinger problem: Having self-control



When Joe Weller was CEO of Nestle USA, I'm pretty sure that this video for Butterfinger would not have seen the light of day. He wouldn't have liked it personally and it wouldn't have passed the family-values orientation that he applied as a corporate value during his tenure. But, hey, new administration, new rules. Which sets up two questions: How much should a company's brand values represent the values of the CEO? And, two: Just because Butterfinger now has permission to do this can kind of ad, should it?

3) AriZona iced tea problem: Being name profiled
This is funny, unless you happen to be responsible for marketing AriZona iced tea. As people upset by the State of Arizona's new immigration rules look for ways to protest, they have targeted AriZona iced tea and called for a boycott. But there's no real connection between the brand and the State--it's actually based in NY. I don't know why the originators picked the AriZona name--perhaps because it sounded cool and it lent itself to an appropriate funky-iced-tea-not-the-same-as-Lipton look? Bet they are starting to wish they'd called it Brooklyn instead. Meanwhile, P.F Chang's China Bistro, with its Scottsdale, AZ HQ, is keeping a low profile, hoping that people think that it's actually based in Beijing.