Scary Women Make for Scary Brands
Lately, I’ve noticed an abundance of women coming out in advertising commercials; and quite frankly, it’s freaking me out a bit. I mean that red-headed Wendy is now coming to life in the commercials, and she scares me. As a kid, I had trouble eating my fries unless I turned the box around.
Most recently, I saw the Sun-Maid Raisin woman come to life. When I see her picture, I feel as though she will try to force feed me a bushel of green grapes until I can no longer breathe. It’s 2008. Are brand managers just now getting comfortable with letting brands run open in the wild?
I think we can all blame Mrs. Buttersworth though for making her presence felt first. Did anyone else know she was married? I didn’t.
I can’t figure out why brands are making these characters come to life. What does that do? Is Starbucks going to have the Siren come out in their commercials and start attacking latte lovers? In this age of social media, I think they should employ more ideas from their passionate user base such as this viral Wendy’s rap video.
@Michael I agree with you on the emotional component. For me, my emotion is that it freaks me out, ha! The BK guy is freaky, but Crispin Porter did that obviously over the top to make people laugh…Chihuahua too. When I see the Wendy’s girl speak, it reminds me of the little blond girl from Poltergeist saying, “They’re heeeere.” Not sure Wendy’s wants that emotion stirred up in me…haha!
I think you’re discounting the emotional component of branding. They have to freshen up their brand while still keeping it familiar, and I guess bringing the Sun Maid woman to life is one way to do that. (Plus, she’s the “Sun Maid”–can’t abandon that) Or, I could be taking my Brand Management class too seriously to see that this post is more factious than anything.
You’re right though, the Wendy’s girl is creepy. Come to think of it, so is the Burger King guy. And Ronald McDonald. And the talking Taco Bell Chihuahua. And the smiling Hardees star. Why are all fast food brands creepy?
I think the characters that these companies use are great! Sure they can be a bit scary to look at, but they work. Everyone associates Ronald with McDonalds and the Chihuahua dog with Taco Bell. These characters create an easy way for kids and even grown-ups to associate the food/restaurant to the characters. If they didn’t have a symbol that is easy to recognize for their company, then they may find it harder to stick-out in the fast-food industry.
@Jennifer I agree with you on the associations kids make. McDonald’s Ronald has always been alive. With animals, it’s near impossible to miss (Geico, Chick Fil A, etc). As for the fast-food campaigns working, do they? Wendy’s is on its 3rd try in as many years and recently had to sell out to Arby’s to stay afloat. I think Dave was the biggest seller for that company.
Love to hear more of your thoughts. Thanks for reading!