In 2004, Kellogg's South Korea had a unique idea for a way to market a new chocolate cereal. The goal was to get South Koreans involved with the new product in a fun way. Kellogg's didn't, however, take into account humanity's desire to troll.
The marketing team decided to run a 'presidential campaign', promising that the winner would become president of the Chex Choco Empire. The race was between the deliciously chocolatey Cheki, and the onion flavored villain of Chaka. Voting would be online and open to the public. Kellogg's thought that the ad campaign would result in an easy win for Cheki and excited consumers. Unfortunately, South Koreans thought it would be funny to vote for the joke candidate.
Once it was obvious that Chaka would be the clear winner, Kellogg's decided to end the election early and declare Cheki the winner. This decision caused backlash, with some calling it an attack on Democracy. Memes depicted Chaka as a freedom fighter.
Every time Kellogg's South Korea would release new flavors, the public would ask for onion cereal. After 16 years, Chaka finally got the justice he deserved. In July of last year, Kellogg's released the product with limited supply. It sold out in a few days, though some say that the onion wasn't strong enough.
Moral of the story: If you're in marketing, don't make underdogs. Also, remember that people will act in ridiculous ways under the disguise of anonymity. A story from 2016 follows a similar formula. After the British government allowed the internet to name their shiny new research vessel "Boaty McBoatface" (124,109 Brits voted for the name), they were forced to accept the name. Maybe one day, those in power will learn to stop overestimating what the faceless will do, but for now, I'm ok with having a few "Boaty McBoatfaces" in the world.
Resources:
Comentarios