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Consumerism

The power of marketing

I was in the supermarket with an unnamed person.

They spotted a packet near the cash register: Mentos, *Special edition*. Some weird-arse flavour not normally available.

Picked it up and appeared to seriously consider buying it. Not because it was Mentos, which they don’t normally buy, but because it was a *Special edition*.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the power of marketing.

By Daniel Bowen

Transport blogger / campaigner and spokesperson for the Public Transport Users Association / professional geek.
Bunurong land, Melbourne, Australia.
Opinions on this blog are all mine.

8 replies on “The power of marketing”

Speaking of the power of advertising … What about the banner advert I just read on your website from Entre Nous “Meet attractive women 30+”.
Why would that be of interest to the geeks reading your blog???

I refuse to buy Mentos purely due to their bad 1980s ads they used to play in the late nineties and early noughties “Fresh Goes Better…” which were clearly leftovers from the US Reagan era.

Still, I was at the shops today and saw Cadbury ‘Wispa’ limited edition. As a chocolate reviewer (yes, I’m livin’ the dream, baby) I *know* that these are merely road tests for new flavours or the off-loads of an incorrect shipping container order, but like a rat in a skinner box I bought one. Well two, actually.

There are two types of Mentos sold in Australia – the best one’s are the “Chewy Dragees” (item description on the pack)… The other one’s are less colourful and less flavoursome…

Speaking of banding, I sadly noticed recently that I include the “!” when referring to GO! channel… dammit

My sister is addicted to Mentos so when I was in France last year, I couldn’t resist buying her two of the flavours I saw on offer there – Cola and licorice.

Not the power of marketing – the power of impulse buying. It’s not being marketed – but the impulse to buy just near the checkout is product placement at it’s worst. Or best if you work for Mentos….

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