The UK’s Daily Mail is reporting about that tag line, which had been used by Frubes, the UK’s best-selling children’s yogurt. The phrasing referred to how you consume the stuff by tearing the top off the tube and squeezing the yogurt into your mouth.
But the rip-off/suck-out phrasing wasn’t the real Daily Mail story. Yoplait, the manufacturer of Frubes, recently replaced the tag line with “Pull their tops off and eat them all up.” That replacement is closer to the real Daily Mail story, but not exactly it either.
The real story is the outpouring of affection for the former phrasing and charges of silliness for Yoplait changing it.
What does the company have to say about the controversy? They’re keeping quiet. When the assistant brand manager of Yoplait UK was asked, she refused comment. This does add to the intrigue, thereby fueling further publicity.
Is any publicity about a controversy valuable? Researchers at University of Delaware and University of Hartford asked if even negative publicity improves profitability. The researchers concluded it doesn’t. With one exception: If you take refuge in principles important to your target audience, the controversy tossed around by negative publicity leads to you being noticed without being hurt.
On the other side, tamp down controversy with apologies when your principles are questioned. A while ago, baked goods company Entenmann’s tweeted, “Who's #notguilty about eating all the tasty treats they want?!” This on the day that endless tweets of outrage were circulating about the acquittal of Casey Anthony on charges she had killed her 2½-year-old daughter.
Entenmann’s soon issued a new tweet: “Our #notguilty tweet was insensitive, albeit completely unintentional. We are sincerely sorry.”
Likeable Media, the social media consultants to Entenmann’s actually did the original post. They were tracking the #notguilty tag as a trending topic, so hopped on board with its use, but say they failed to first investigate why the tag was suddenly so popular.
The Frubes tag line did have something else going for it beyond controversy: Disgust. In general, people make more purchases whenever their emotions kick in. The boost works best with positive emotions, but activating consumer emotions we think of as less pleasant—yes, even disgust—can also stimulate purchasing.
Click below for more:
Arouse Lovers by Flaunting Haters
Take Refuge from Controversy in Principles
Cultivate Controversy Carefully
Protect Ads Against Overwhelming Emotion
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