OVER EASY, HOLD THE ADS


The versatility of the common egg, touted as a perfect food in a perfect package, was bound to hit Madison Avenue sooner or later.

A Boulder Colorado company, Egg Fusion, perfected a method to laser-etch the egg surface with expiration dates and, yes, marketing messages.

The CBS network will be among the first to use the technology to promote its Fall line-up. CSI – “Crack The Case”, The Amazing Race – “Scramble To Win On CBS” are but a hint of what we can “eggspect” this Fall.

Has Mad-ison Avenue gone too far? As a consumer, I resent the use of a food product that I purchased, with an “in-your-face” commercial message on it. If you want to place an ad on my property, then pay me for it --- or reduce the cost of the product. I can draw a close analogy to cookies placed on my hard-drive. Don’t put them there unless there is some kind of return or benefit in it for me….and ask me first.

The implied benefit in this instance is the ability to recognize an expiration date, etched in alongside the ad message. No thanks. Every carton carries that information on its side – I don’t need to be reminded twelve times.


The consumer will, ultimately decide if this is a passing fad. I trust the consumer.
As for CBS, it’s the perfect package -- Created By Sperm.

1 comment:

richm29 said...

Paul,

"Has advertising gone too far" you ask? This is a business that lives by the motto: anything worth doing is worth doing to excess.

Ads on food are not new. Don't you remember the Fruit Labels? I think that came out when I was still at LKP.

I'm with you on this. Enough is too much already.

Best,
Rich