Friday, September 26, 2008

Would this one be called "Boobie Doobie"?

When I have that unique hankering for ice cream, my first thought used to be "strawberry," but after living near a Ben & Jerry's this summer, the thought evolved into "Chunky Monkey in a waffle cup."  It's an odd transition, yet one that I'm completely comfortable with.

The word iconic is used, overused and abused while talking about brands; however, I have to bring myself to argue there are a few brands that fall into that category.  Ben & Jerry's is certainly one of them -- the product has a unique hold over people, and thus their brand is the muse of liberal clarity and entrepreneurial relief.  

PETA recently saw this unique energy around the ice cream brand as well.  A recent request that certainly falls into the organization's "oh, yes . . .  we went there" category of requests, is lingering in my head:  they submitted a proposal to have all cow's milk be replaced by human milk in all Ben & Jerry's flavors.  

Just to clarify, we're talking about breast milk, correct?  That leaves a sour taste in my mouth.  

Ben & Jerry's decided not to follow through with such action, unfortunately.  You can read all about it here.  The company did their research (or at least presented a facade of doing their research) for PETA's recommendation, and claimed that it would not functionally make sense at this point in time -- there are just too many substantial differences between how they create the magical ice cream now (with milk from a cow's utter, to clarify) and a transition to the "boobie doobie" of the future (breast milk ice cream).   

This naturally poses a few questions, I think:  
  • How would the brand image change among the lighthearted audience it has captured in recent years after hypothetically switching to human milk as an ingredient?
  • Would this raise other objections in consumers' minds, as they might weigh the difference between feeding your teenagers breast milk in ice cream and feeding your teenagers breast milk?  
  • The breast milk production is no doubt relatively new and European, but in an American market, what would happen to the brand?

and most importantly

  • Would consumers have the opportunity to make their "own" ice cream?  

This is all fun to think about, but Ben & Jerry's is much more fun to eat than to think about.  Keep it fun.  I anxiously wait for the next introduction into the flavor library.  

Breast milk -- right now -- is not fun.  It's scary.

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