We associate certain food items with older people. Miracle Whip is one such item for me. My grandmother was big fan of glopping the stuff in tuna salad with chopped dill pickles. Coming from an old skool mayo house, the zesty and oddly yellowish condiment always took me off guard; I never quite developed a taste for the stuff. So imagine my surprise while walking in the Los Angeles 20-something hipster neighborhood of Los Feliz and I saw a huge, edgy/campy billboard for Miracle Whip (or MW, as it’s referred to in the ad). After doing a little research, I discovered that MW is reaching out to younger customers (sorry, Grams) via social media marketing, online branding and traditional advertising.
Miracle Whip, using the new tag line “Are you Bold Enough?,” has taken to Facebook to start lively conversations. The MW Facebook page invites fans to start debates. In addition to the Mayo vs. Miracle Whip debate, other topics include World Cup matchups and favorite television show battles. And, of course, the company’s Facebook page is home to a link to the Lady Gaga video that features the famously zesty sandwich spread. Also to be found is a funny letter to TV funnyman Steven Colbert who recently lampooned Miracle Whip’s hip makeover.
Miracle Whip, a product of Kraft (which incidentally also makes MW’s mortal enemy, mayo), continues the bold Gen Y branding on its own website. More opportunities to debate, recipes and videos are found on the site in an attempt to shake off the old lady stigma. Kraft has positioned Miracle Whip at all kinds of youth-based events lately, too. MW marketing teams were spotted at Coachella and South by Southwest. The image revamp has been underway since last fall and many like Colbert have laughed off Kraft’s attempt to make something so uncool seem cool.
Although I remain a mayo loyalist (sorry again, Grams), I give Kraft big points for at trying. While the MW misses the mark in my book (enough with the initializing, already), the branching into social media is an unexpected move from Miracle Whip. Any brand willing to throw its hat into the ring of social media marketing is doing something right. And it proves that social media is now the premiere spot to attempt an image makeover. Of course, a Lady Gaga video product placement deal is marketing solid gold these days, as well.
Now that I’m a grown up, I get to decide what goes into my tuna salad (big fan of Dijon and capers, by the way) and I don’t expect the MW to make an appearance any time soon on one of my sammies. Still, I have to applaud Kraft for kicking it up a notch.
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