- In their Ripple ad, Hershey's promotes family togetherness, as a family of five morphs out of the melted chocolate to hold hands with friends around the world.
- Their Swing & Drive ad sells you on the notion of pure simplicity leading to pure happiness, as a young girl enjoys a carefree moment on a swing and then dives into a rippling lake of chocolate.
- Hershey's Christmas commercial promises a "pure holiday" as a family sings a festive carol while chocolate snowflakes lightly touch down around them.
Not only is this a good commercial but it's also a smart business strategy. Past history has shown that chocolate sales rise during recessionary times as consumers seek a touch of comfort in an otherwise unsettling time. According to Packaged Facts, U.S. chocolate sales in 2009 reached $17.3 billion, a new high for the category.
While M&M's may promise to not melt in your hands, Hershey's seeks to melt your heart this holiday season. All that for about $1.00 a bar.
The reason that Hershey's is able to sell chocolate for the price it does - is because they use forced child labor to pick cocoa beans in West Africa: http://www.thedarksideofchocolate.org/
ReplyDeleteAt one time Hershey's was a great company, but since the death of their founder the company has gone astray.
Please consider purchasing Fair Trade chocolate. It is so much sweeter!
I saw your reply on Twitter and was going to do a little research - thanks for doing it for me! I actually do buy Fair Trade chocolate, but also have some family in Germany so I get a lot of great chocolate from Germany! Thanks for the insight.
ReplyDelete