Thursday, September 01, 2005
MoonPie goes for a bigger bite of the market
In 1917, the Chattanooga Bakery Co. introduced a new graham cracker, chocolate and marshmallow snack, dubbed the MoonPie. The South hasn’t been the same since. Even today, the great duo — RC Cola and MoonPie — still reign supreme in rural towns throughout the Southeast. (Read a review of the MoonPie.)
Now MoonPie has set its sights on a much broader market with the national launch of a new product. Actually, it’s not that new. It’s just a smaller version of the MoonPie they now bake. They named it the Mini MoonPie and hired Big River Advertising of Richmond, Va., to launch a campaign. According to Brandweek,the first assignment is a TV campaign now in test markets in Charlotte, NC, and Birmingham and Montgomery, Ala. Titled “A Little Moon Pie Can Change the World,” the spots show real people going about their stress-filled, hectic, over-committed lives. Amid all the noise, the ad points to the innocence of kids and the simple enjoyment of things like MoonPie. MoonPie represents an “authentic” solution: a bite from their past.
The MoonPie Web site has a more focused message for the Mini MoonPie:
Now MoonPie has set its sights on a much broader market with the national launch of a new product. Actually, it’s not that new. It’s just a smaller version of the MoonPie they now bake. They named it the Mini MoonPie and hired Big River Advertising of Richmond, Va., to launch a campaign. According to Brandweek,the first assignment is a TV campaign now in test markets in Charlotte, NC, and Birmingham and Montgomery, Ala. Titled “A Little Moon Pie Can Change the World,” the spots show real people going about their stress-filled, hectic, over-committed lives. Amid all the noise, the ad points to the innocence of kids and the simple enjoyment of things like MoonPie. MoonPie represents an “authentic” solution: a bite from their past.The MoonPie Web site has a more focused message for the Mini MoonPie:
“Finally, a MoonPie for the kids! The Mini MoonPie is perfect for the lunch-box, for after-school snacking or for a mild case of on-the-go munchies. It's little, but it's packed with that same delicious MoonPie taste of it ancestors.”I’ve never thought of a cookie as having ancestors. Can you picture two MoonPies stuck together?…well, you get the idea. I suppose if Krispy-Kreme, another Southern staple, can make it big (even though things suck for them now) so can a Mini MoonPie. Make it BIG, that is.
