I understand the need for advertising gimmicks. I really do. The average consumer is barraged daily by such a glut of images and pitches that many products need to go to extremes to be heard over the din. But this promotion is just plain silly. Does anyone who eats chocolate not know what M&M's are? They must sell billions of the little ovoids annually(I tried to find stats, but M&M/Mars play their cards very close to the vest), so do they really need to be able to print messages, or your favorite kid's face on the things? I can just see little Johnny at his birthday party squinting to make out the tiny image on his candy. "Mommy, is that a badger? Maybe it's a race car?" "No, honey, that's you!" "I have to eat my own head? Waaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" I suppose I could see the value in sending a bag of 'poison pen' M&M's to an ex, but the things are so addictive that even if she bothers to notice the almost microscopic 'Fuck you, Brenda' on the confections, she's still going to enjoy them, so the point is a bit lost there. (and for the record I don't know, nor do I think I have ever known a Brenda) It is really cool that in these days of easy printing you can get your favorite photos put on everything from credit cards to birthday cakes, but I fear the slippery slope of M&M pictures. Say this takes off, then companies start putting pictures on even smaller things. Fortune cookies get replaced by fortune toothpicks, Build-Your-Own Tolstoy and Dostoevsky in boxes of Minute Rice, or for the ego maniac with a sweet tooth, personalized sugar(microscope sold separately). We must stop the madness now, before it goes any further. I say no to nanoadvertising!!!! Keep your stinking jingles off my atoms you damned dirty marketers!!
Have a nice day. :-)
Marius the Irrelevant
3 comments:
I confess- I bought these. I had "Mr. Monkey is Great!" and "Mr. Monkey is Awesome!" printed on candies. Because I am a loon.
A chocolate loving loon- so I was quite disappointed that these do not taste quite the same as M&Ms.
I think I'd do it... yeah I'm weird that way, and yet I'm also cheap, so maybe not!
I've thought of doing the stamps at Xmas (Canada Post offers a service where you can use your picture for a stamp), but didn't bother.
I don't know, it might work for weddings and such... but then again I've seen "personalised"
wrappers which for me were way cooler, and easier to read! ;-)
Ooooops! I put this comment on the wrong post! What belongs here is that Claymates LOVE M&Ms that have Clay-related stuff on them. And yes, we've known about them for quite a while now!
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