Political attack ads aren’t the only big buy in the Syracuse media market these days. A multi-million dollar ad campaign has been running for several weeks, branding baby carrots as junk food in an attempt to get more people to eat them.
Andy Nathan, one of the masterminds behind the concept, is scheduled to speak at Syracuse University on November 11. He’s VP and account director for Crispin Porter + Bogusky, the agency behind the edgy commercials.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bhq_NL6jL0
Syracuse and Cincinnati were chosen as test markets for the ad campaign. If the junk food campaign works, the carrot industry plans to take the concept national.
Part of the pilot program included installing a baby carrot vending machine in Fayetteville-Manlius high school. According to a recent Post-Standard article, school officials want to figure out how to keep the baby carrot vending machine longer:
“The novelty of the carrot-stocked vending machine definitely fueled sales at the onset," said F-M High School Principal Raymond Kilmer. The carrots sold out at first, with 320 bags sold the first week. That dropped to 175 the second week, then to 155, 131 and most recently 89.
Andy Nathan will speak about the campaign at 6:30 p.m. in the Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium in Newhouse 3. According to Syracuse University, the talk is free and open to the public.
