Oh joy. The talking Mrs. Butterworth bottle is making a comeback in TV spots, on the Web, in an interactive game, and, just for good marketing measure, in an online contest. Pinnacle Foods is making a big push to reintroduce the syrup to the next generation, targeting moms and kids specifically. What a shame!
Unless you live in a cave, you know that childhood obesity is at an all-time high - kids are eating processed crap with marginal nutritional value and they’re not moving nearly as much as generations past, thanks to video games, computers, and non-stop TV. Basically, we’re setting our kids up for a lifetime of health problems and bad eating habits, and advertisers are capitalizing on it.
The beauty of our industry is that anyone can pretty much sell anything in most cases. But, I wonder if it’s responsible to emotionally attach children to products that are so obviously detrimental to their health. Mrs. Butterworths, pardon my humble opinion, is total crap. The very first ingredient is HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP - the cheapest form of sugar which, if you read up on it, wreaks havoc on your liver and forces your body to initiate a severe insulin reaction to cope. Each 1/4 cup serving of Mrs. Butterworth syrup packs a whopping 220 calories and 55g of carbohydrates – 38g of which is cheap, processed sugar.
Is it responsible of Pinnacle Foods to forge an emotional connection between kids and the talking bottle? Isn’t this the same kind of negligence tobacco companies and McDonald’s (through Ronald McDonald and friends) have been accused of and sued over? Isn’t it our duty to prevent companies from advertising to children products that can harm them?
If it’s true what they say – it’s what’s inside that matters – then moms need to look past that kind, grandmotherly bottle and see what they’re really getting their kids hooked on – processed garbage that is awful for their growing bodies.
Here’s a marketing idea: why doesn’t a REAL maple syrup manufacturer come up with a talking bottle or an animated character that will resonate with kids. Even though it’s still syrup and should be used sparingly, at least it has been created by nature rather than a chemist in a factory who-knows-where.
