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Ad It Up: Snack Attack

What is chewy and shriveled, loved by the elderly, and may or may not be the secret ingredient in Dr. Pepper?

Give up?

PRUNES! Of course.

Yes, prunes are the magical wrinkly fruit that have been keeping old people regular for decades...so you may ask what they have to do with pop culture. Well, it seems that the prune industry is facing a bit of a problem. Unlike the very forward-thinking raisin industry, prune retailers never really came up with a catchy gimmick to keep the young people interested in their product. Both raisins and prunes act similarly as laxatives and sources of fiber, but prunes have complacently stood by their reputation for easing poops as their younger, hipper cousins captured the Rock and Roll generation, forming the only known all-dried fruit band to date:



So how does the prune industry bounce back from their pigeon-holed reputation of being ambrosia for constipated grandmas? Clearly the problem is with the packaging. I can't even count the number of times I've said to myself, "Gee, I could really go for a prune right now but there are just too many in a package. Only old people shop in bulk. I would totally eat prunes all the time if only they were individually wrapped!" And the prune industry heard my plea...

Announcing individually wrapped prunes! Or "Sunsweet Ones," if you'd prefer. They kinda look like a dark-colored condom with "Sunsweet" where I would expect to read "Trojan," but they come in a canister instead of a bag, which is way more appealing to the youth. Plus, all that extra plastic being unnecessarily used for something that I'd probably eat multiples of anyway makes me feel like I'm getting some kind of special treatment in every bite. The best part is, a serving of prunes is actually four prunes:
So really, individually wrapping them makes so very little sense. Even the ad campaign is weak. You are never going to be cool, prunes!! Wake up and smell the coffee.



If prunes want to reinvent themselves, that's fine. But I guess I just don't get what is supposed to be more appealing about single-packaged prunes. Dried fruit will always be a tough sell, but at least try to make it look cool. Do I want a snack that tastes good or one that sings to me and makes the other snacks scared to death? That's definitely a toss-up. But do I want a snack that tastes good or one that is really good for my digestive system and conveniently packaged in singles? Meh...

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  1. Blogger Papa Thor | 11:14 AM |  

    The Monty Python tune "Every prune is precious" comes to mind.
    The marketing ploy they really missed is chocolate covered prunes (I'm sure Family Guy could think of something.)

  2. Blogger DoktorPeace | 1:14 PM |  

    Erm, that song is actually called "Every sperm is sacred," I believe. You must be thinking of the edited for channel 18 version...

  3. Blogger Papa Thor | 10:35 AM |  

    Actually, you got pwn'ed by my awesome, totally skewed sense of humor, where I take something that is slightly obscure but well-known to a hard-core fan base, twist it just a little so that the in-duh-viduals (see, I'm doing it again) don't quite follow what I am saying, but the true hipsters (haha, another one!) "get it".
    Go back and re-read the opening sentence in Lady Amy's blog and you'll see all the layers (if you're hip enough!)

  4. Blogger Unknown | 4:23 AM |  

    Nice coverage

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