3/30/09
Conventional wisdom has always maintained that it is a bad idea to name your competitor outright in advertising, for fear that a consumer will remember the name of the competitive product rather than your own. It’s a valid concern since in most cases the brand doing the advertising is comparing themselves to the category leader.
But last year, Campbell’s decided to start the MSG wars with Progresso. Unfortunately for them, Progresso decided to fight back. (Wong, 2008) This has lead to a series of ads where each accuses the other of marketing unhealthy products. What has this accomplished? Well, in my case it made me more aware of the fact that all canned soup is loaded with chemicals and has turned me into a non-user of both.
Now comes word from Powerade that they intend to attack industry leader Gatorade head on with claims, backed by research, that Gatorade is an inferior method of hydration. (Zmuda, 2009)
Is this a good idea or bad? Do you think this will be an effective way to convert Gatorade users to Powerade users? Or is there a potential for a backlash here too?
Wong, E. (2008, October 8). Soup War Continues, Progresso Strikes Back. brandweek.com. Retrived march 30, 2009 from
http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/packaged-goods/e3i7e19cce243eb21aaa2048c8982be98f9
Zmuda, N. (2009, March 23). Gator Baiter: Powerade Jabs at Powerhouse. adage.com. Retrived 3/25/09 from
http://adage.com/article?article_id=135436
But last year, Campbell’s decided to start the MSG wars with Progresso. Unfortunately for them, Progresso decided to fight back. (Wong, 2008) This has lead to a series of ads where each accuses the other of marketing unhealthy products. What has this accomplished? Well, in my case it made me more aware of the fact that all canned soup is loaded with chemicals and has turned me into a non-user of both.
Now comes word from Powerade that they intend to attack industry leader Gatorade head on with claims, backed by research, that Gatorade is an inferior method of hydration. (Zmuda, 2009)
Is this a good idea or bad? Do you think this will be an effective way to convert Gatorade users to Powerade users? Or is there a potential for a backlash here too?
Wong, E. (2008, October 8). Soup War Continues, Progresso Strikes Back. brandweek.com. Retrived march 30, 2009 from
http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/packaged-goods/e3i7e19cce243eb21aaa2048c8982be98f9
Zmuda, N. (2009, March 23). Gator Baiter: Powerade Jabs at Powerhouse. adage.com. Retrived 3/25/09 from
http://adage.com/article?article_id=135436
