Shout out to the Peeps
Ok.. I’ve decided.
My ultimate dream account; the product I must represent, and would have clearly devoted my four years of university learning… well… let’s just say the “time I was in college,”… the zenith of my professional career would be…. “Peeps.”
I will give the pure magnitude a moment for the idea to settle in.
The Peep is that yellow, smooshy, apparently chick-shaped, eraser-like substance in an Easter Basket near you. Oh, and it also made the cover of today’s Life Section of USA TODAY.
Wait —Van Halen restarts its tour after some hidden medical condition involving Eddie Van Halen. THAT gets “news brief” status, a sidebar in the section.
But Peeps? Peeps anchored the entire bottom of the page with four columns and an illustration dedicated to delicious, sugar-fused foam.
What gives?
To be cliché, “timing is everything,” or at least, nearly everything.
This is a great example of what we always stress to clients; simply, a company needs to take full advantage of what they do and how what they do fits into everything else that’s happening in the outside world.
Often, the people inside companies get tied up in what they think is important… downright vital… in their eyes.
However, let’s say a new glue to hold two widgets together is cool, but how much is it saving the world — or the customer?
Is there a trade show coming up to provide the right backdrop and to give the reporters an excuse, as it were, to cover it? Heck, is April National Sticky Month? We need a hook to go with the message — this is the point.
So, today ya gotta hand it to the peeps behind Peeps. With the Easter Holiday on the horizon, they nailed a sweet spot that should make even Van Halen jealous.
March 20th, 2008 at 6:31 am
A blog on two of my favorite things - Peeps and Van Halen. Truly amazing that they would ever find themselves in print together. I enjoyed this comparison and thought…if I was the editor, which story would I have chosen to feature?
Peeps. Hands down. At this time of year, they simply cannot be resisted.
You’re right, Sam. It’s all about timing and the hook.
March 20th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
I always thought “that yellow, smooshy, eraser-like substance” was David Lee Roth…
March 24th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Peeps are my bombdiggity. Can’t eat just one.