Are you familiar with how the oreo brand has remained consistent over the decades?
The most recent Oreo commercial sparked a conversation between Kevin, his wife Francie, and her son Drew. The discussion centered around the manipulation of marketing and whether or not it is ethical. Francie exclaimed that she loved the new commercial and went out and bought a package of Oreos. Drew admitted he understood companies use manipulation in advertising but he doesn’t like it.
Find out what ensued in this lively debate.
The concept of manipulation gets talked about a lot in the context of marketing and advertising and is definitely worth exploring. Join Amy and Kevin as they explore the history of The Oreo over the years. It has stayed very consistent with the Innocent Archetype, even when delving into politics or other sensitive topics like supporting the LBGTQ community. The Oreo brand is a great example of a company that has stayed true to its brand while also being willing to take risks in order to cultivate brand loyalty and raving fans.
Not everyone is going to agree with Oreo’s stand on politics or lifestyle choices, but they do it anyway – and they do it really well.
Check out the commercials mentioned in the episode at the following links:
Do you have a brand that you’d like us to evaluate? Let us know. We’d be happy to give you our 2¢
Don’t have an Archetype Yet?
I had fun listening! Here’s my take. I don’t think that manipulation is inherently unethical. People are constantly manipulating each other and their surroundings and it’s natural and expected in the proper context. Brands manipulating consumers is not inherently unethical either. To be a successful person (or brand or organization etc.) you need to manipulate the variables in your favor. I manipulate my way to success at work by fostering good relationships with my coworkers and boss, Nabisco manipulates people by connecting an idea to a product. No foul play here, thats their goal and that’s fine. My main question, that I liked your opinion on, was “can a brand be genuine in their marketing”. In our conversation you mentioned the idea that a brand must be genuine in order to keep a consistent marketing archetype through the decades, which Oreo has done. To me that was the most compelling idea that you mentioned and I thought about it and agree that yes, a brand can be genuine, and maybe this can be shown through consistency. But in some cases it’s irresponsible to trust a brand. I would be curious to hear a deep dive into the implications of trusting a brand and criteria that can be applied to explore a brand’s true motives. I see the Oreo commercial as being similar to a guy hitting on your daughter and saying to her the infamously suspicious line of “Hey, I’m a nice guy”. Mayyybe he is, but it’s also irresponsible to take his word at face value. Maybe Oreo is Genuine. Maybe they aren’t. It’s hard for me to tell, but an instant appeal to their marketing campaign (running out and buying Oreos explicitly because of the commercial) still frustrates me. Cool episode!