According to what I learned in my business classes in college, the purpose of advertising is to help a company market a product to customers, whether repeat or potential.
Some ads are designed to make a lasting impression to improve brand awareness, reminding the customer of their historic shopping preferences. Other ads are intended to simply increase sales.
The question is, what is the purpose of the new advertising campaign for Orbit chewing gum?
The William Wrigley, Jr. company has dominated the chewing gum business for more than 100 years.
Their most popular U.S. products include Altoids breath mints, Skittles and Starburst candies, Lifesavers, as well as Juicy Fruit, DoubleMint, Spearmint, and Big Red gums.
Orbit gum is yet another Wrigley brand of gum, one with a very interesting history. During World War II, every pack of Juicy Fruit, Spearmint, and other well known Wrigley brands manufactured were exported to U.S. troops fighting overseas.
The brand was discontinued in 1946, after the war had ended and the other brands returned to the American market.
In 1976, Orbit was revived as a product, introduced as a sugar-free gum sold in a few European countries. In 2001, the brand was brought back to American markets with the “Dirty Mouth” ad campaign. The first commercials featured a blonde spokeswoman and typically suggested that the reason a person needed to chew Orbit gum was to clean their mouth after they had used bad language.
They were pretty silly ads, but mostly harmless.
The one starring Snoop Dogg was actually pretty funny, especially the included “disclaimer” stating the commercial was a dramatization and that chewing Orbit gum really won’t get you into Heaven.
As if that was something we needed to be told. But now I wonder if continuing to chew Orbit gum should doom me to Hell…
The commercials gradually became more risqué over time, including this one making light of adultery by suggesting we should chew Orbit gum “for a good, clean feeling no matter what.”
Wrigley recently hired “adult” comedienne Sarah Silverman to be their new spokesperson for Orbit gum. The new ads featuring Ms. Silverman might best be described as soft porn, with the unsubtle message now being sent to customers that Orbit should be chewed after oral sex. The only way the message could have been made any more obvious would have been replacing Ms. Silverman with Monica Lewinsky. The commercials feature Silverman and a coffee cup engaging in conversation that is very sexually suggestive.
Look, I’m not a prude. But this campaign raises several issues about the intent of the William Wrigley, Jr. Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mars, Incorporated.
First, there is the strong sexual innuendo of the commercials themselves and the message being conveyed. There is also the choice of spokesperson to consider.
Now Sarah Silverman can be pretty funny, if her “breakup video” with Matt Damon for talk show host Jimmy Kimmel was any indication. But late night television is where her brand of humor seems most appropriate for airing.
Her standup routine can also be quite offensive, her judgment often appears questionable — she definitely crossed a line when she used an actor who pretending to be a ultra-liberal, sacrilegious version of Jesus Christ to promote her personal views on “women’s reproductive rights,” meaning abortion.
Nor was that the first time Ms. Silverman has mocked or used Christianity for personal gain. Her 2005 comedy special was titled “Jesus is Magic.”
Obviously, Ms. Silverman isn’t the least bit afraid to risk offending certain groups of people with her comedy. The question is, should gum commercials be sexually provocative and edgy? Should a company employ should a controversial spokesperson to reach a mass audience?
However, Wrigley is free to hire whomever they choose to represent their product. They are also entitled to waste good money to make tasteless advertising.
I firmly believe in freedom of speech. That goes for the Wrigley company and Mars corporation as well as the individual consumer.
If soft porn is the direction in which Wrigley wishes to take this product, that is their prerogative. It’s a shame that a product with such a historic past would be taken in such a sordid direction.
But I also believe in freedom of choice as a two-way street. We don’t have to buy a product just because Wrigley wants to sell it. Customers offended by these Orbit commercials with Sarah Silverman should communicate their displeasure to the manufacturers, but the best response would be chewing a different brand of gum.
Nothing could possibly influence an advertising campaign more than negative results, meaning decreased sales. Money talks.
Such a classy way to review such a distasteful commercial. You are a great writer Mr.Leonard. We certainly need more like you that get all the information before writing an article. Hopefully someone saw this that will try to make a change in this marketing,and hopefully they will contact you on how they can make a difference. Well done sir.