Syracuse is one of two test markets for a new national ad campaign called “eat em like junk food.” The concept is simple enough. Brand baby carrots like they're Cheetos or Doritos to get more people to choose vegetables over junk food.
The billboard is a bit static compared to its companion ads across other media. For example, Bolthouse Farms is also running commercials and launched a very loud website (complete with a “carrot crunch powered” game).
The Post-Standard asked Bryan Reese, chief marketing officer for Bolthouse Farms, if Syracuse was selected as a test market because of Syracuse University.
Reese laughingly says no, the real reason is two fold: They have a great relationship with Wegmans and they needed “a market that was representative of an average-to-above-average carrot consumption market in the United States.” Syracuse apparently fits the bill. Cincinnati is the other test market.
Ad psychologist Carol Moog tells USA Today that the campaign might be hedging too much on the junk food shtick.
“Kids may be disappointed to find all the flashy ads are really just for carrots. [Moog] says they need to make carrots more fun — like, perhaps, putting an orange (but natural) dusting on carrots that mimics Cheetos.”
Bolthouse Farms CEO Jeff Dunn said in a statement that there’s a strong zeitgeist around healthy snacking and now is a good time to try change the face of the baby carrot industry.
