When the chip hits the fan.
Podcast Episode- Coming Soon
You’ve just gotten the baby down for its nap and you’re jonesing for a Netflix break. Mindlessly, you grab for a bag of chips and plop down on your couch. Volume off and closed captioning activated, you turn on the TV and smile happily. You reach for your snack and…
!! Crunch !!
AN EXPLOSION OF SOUND !!
The baby is up. The moment is over. Your chips ruined any chance of relaxation for at least another 30 minutes. Sadly, you relent and brace for the chaos of fighting an infant.
No Soggy Chips Here!
In real life, one would never think of grabbing a crunchy snack during baby time. However, newborns make you lose your mind and do dumb things, such as grab for noisy things at inopportune times.
So with that being said, let’s dive in.
In 2010, SunChips created a completely biodegradable bag. Great for the environment; awful for everything else. The bag’s material was made from super noisy stuff. So noisy in fact that a pilot even commented that the decibel-wise was louder than his cockpit!
Usually, this would be the part where I would sing SunChips’ praises for being so eco-friendly. However, the cacophony of the bag’s sound and the amount of revenue because of it (11%) prevent me from doing so.
But I’m good at finding silver linings, so here goes.
The original intention was to help preserve our planet using materials that broke down faster in landfills. Bravo, SunChips! That part is great!
The problem was simply follow through. They didn’t test it well enough with consumers before bringing it to market, resulting in a costly bag debacle.
Sun Chips did what EVERY company does at one point or another; they messed up.
Read my original article for the extra details and breakdown.
A Savory Symphony
The bag was loud, but that didn’t have to mean bad. When you think about chips in general, they are supposed to be noisy. Our brains are wired to think that crunchy and crisp means fresher and better.
What if SunChips had INTENTIONALLY played into the noisy chip idea?
If they had done their research from the beginning and known the bag was excessively noisy, they could have played into it.
Some Word Play
They could have added playful word imagery onto the bag. Here are some quick brainstorms from my brain to your ears.
“Warning, sounds not suitable for children.”
“This bag holds noisy goodness.”
“SAVE THE PLANET AND MAKE SOME NOISE!!”
“Caution: Bag creates excessive sounds. Crinkle with care.”
“Big sounds: great chip.”
Obviously, the phrasing is my own and in no way models SunChips’ brand identity. But with that knowledge and foresight in mind, they could have had a LOT of fun with it and created a LOT of water cooler conversation as a result.
Funny ads are big hits! Remember when Super Bowl commercials were funny?
Take That Chip and Crunch On It
Chip happens. However, SunChips still has an awesome opportunity to crunch loudly and win. Chips are still crunchy, and bags still make lots of sound. Playing up the volume of a bag is still possible.
SunChips could win with noisy, if they make that sound on purpose.
