But I do like their new campaign, “Are You Miracle Whip?”. The first TV commercial I saw piqued my interest with the campaign as promptly after it ended, I turned to my husband and said, “I hate Miracle Whip.” And then I realized, they already got me. I was doing exactly what they wanted me to do – talk about the product. The ads feature “real people” and celebrities (if Pauly D counts) explaining how much they love or hate Miracle Whip. The testimonials are supposed to be unscripted, which I don’t buy, but they still do a good job of expressing varying opinions on the product in a humorous way. The best thing about this campaign is that Miracle Whip stakes a claim and they’re OK if you don’t like. In a world of brands that are afraid to make a stand and where company slogans such as “We Specialize in Everything” are all too common, I appreciate that Miracle Whip embraces being different and challenges you to get on board – or not. Miracle Whip is saying, yes, we’re a unique taste that is not for everyone. And they capitalize on this fact by poking the haters as much as the lovers of the product and getting them talking.
They facilitate this conversation on their YouTube channel (over a million channel views strong) and on their Facebook page (about 70,000+ fans) and lovers and haters get their own space to rant and rave. And the comments look legit. One guy says, “I hate it with all of my soul”, which seemed extreme until I saw the guy’s name was “iminlovewithagoth”. You can also request free samples. So for those people who are on the fence, Miracle Whip’s ultimate target, you can try for yourself on their dime. Which is another thing I love. We are curious people. And even if you just heard someone tell you how it tastes like lotion, you may want to try it for yourself. Even those Miracle Whip haters may encourage someone to try it so they will agree how nasty it is. It’s similar to a friend opening the fridge, telling you how bad it smells and then saying, “here, smell it!”
On the Facebook page, fans can continue to profess their love or where haters can hate. Each camp gets a tab and lovers get a coupon. I do wish MW would do more to allow deeper and more creative engagement than Facebook and YouTube comments. Maybe it’s a song-writing contest. Or one guy talked about his Miracle Whip dance – that’s probably a YouTube video I’d watch. I did find a pic on their Facebook page that looked like a street team effort with this particular day they were offering MW on hot dogs. Maybe a feeble attempt, but it’s going in the right direction.
People seem to be talking about Miracle Whip a lot more as a result of the campaign – doing exactly what MW wants us to do. In a Google search, I found on a couple of random blogs and websites where conversations were going on about the product. On IGN, a gamer website, someone posted a discussion on the new campaign. Some people didn’t know what Miracle Whip was and others were explaining. One guy said about how the ad campaign was allowing celebs to bash the product to sell more of it – “does not compute”. But you’re still talking about it, Zelda – they got you too.
With the campaign scheduled to run through the end of the year, time will tell with Miracle Whip’s bottom line on how truly effective it is. Until then, check out this TV spot and decide for yourself if you’re Miracle Whip.