Hey, where’s our shot of corporate goodwill?
Published 2:26 pm Friday, November 16, 2007
Maxwell House, the venerable coffee maker whose old TV commercials are now a hit on YouTube, has come up with a bold, yet smooth, marketing campaign.
On Wednesday, traditionally the year’s busiest travel day, the coffee company will pick up the tab for all motorists at toll plazas in eight U.S. cities — Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Dallas, Miami, Denver, Atlanta and Pittsburgh. It also will distribute fare cards at five New York subway stations. For each toll it pays, Maxwell House will make a donation to America’s Second Harvest, a hunger-relief agency, for up to a total of $100,000. The campaign is designed to “brew some good.” With the food bank donation, the company is off to a good start. The free tolls are nice touch, too.
But what about us? Here in the Northwest, where tolls are few and far between, where is our free ride? Where is the corporate donation for the needy? Well, it turns out there’s a little coffee company in our neck of the woods called “Starbucks.” We’ve come up with some suggestions if the coffee maker decides it ever needs to conduct a goodwill campaign and sponsor some civic needs:
— The double-tall Alaksan “Starbucks Way” Viaduct.
— The 520 floating Frappuccino Bridge.
— The triple-shot Peppermint Mocha U.S. 2 Trestle.
— The Starbucks Drive-Thru toll booth, at various locations as needed.
— The Tacoma Narrows skinny but grande bridge.
— The Howard Schulz espresso lane, for those driven to grow at all costs.
— The low-fat wet-cap Lite Rail system.
Meanwhile, Starbucks announced Thursday that it would begin its first national television advertising campaign. It seems business is slowing a bit, although it had a very profitable fourth quarter. After raising prices in July, the number of visits to U.S. stores dropped for the first time.
“As a national leader, we have an opportunity to make sure our voice is heard in the all-important media of TV. This is the beginning of a new opportunity for us,” Schultz said during a conference call with reporters. “We are up for the defense, and we will get on the offense.”
Previously, when Starbucks was skyrocketing without limit, the coffee maker eschewed television commercials. Too pedestrian for a “café” serving espresso drinks and an “experience.” But now that it’s feeling some competition (mainly from McDonalds and Dunkin’ Donuts), Starbucks will turn to TV and “get on the offense.”
Can’t argue with success. But we have a feeling the spots will send people to YouTube for a dose of “good to the last drop” nostalgia, when coffee was just coffee.
