Well, everyone else seems to be commenting on Kraft’s latest vege-cheesy creation iSnack2.0, so I thought I would throw my two cents in!
Can I just say, right off the bat, what a ridiculous name it is!! I hate iSnack2.0 and it seems I am not alone! Twitter experienced a meltdown following the announcement of the name, with people jumping on the site to proclaim how much they disliked the new name. Facebook hate groups were set up, videos were uploaded to YouTube, and a website called “Names That Are Better Than iSnack2.0” was created. All in all, we are not happy little Vegemites! What on earth were the people over at Kraft thinking when they chose that name!? It’s not even an iconic Australian name and it is based on a FAD! Yes, a trend that won’t be around in 20 years time, let alone 5 years time! It’s not even a name that you would associate with food! What the? Can you really image little kids saying, “Mummy, can I have a jar of iSnack2.0?” I mean honestly! So again, I pose the question, what on earth were Kraft thinking?
According to the company, the winning entry was chosen for its personal call to action and clear identification of a new and different Vegemite. With the product’s tag line reading: “iSnack2.0, because it’s the next generation Vegemite,” the move is a bid by the food company to target a younger market and capitalize on the Apple iPod, iPhone trend. Well can I just say, I am part of the next generation and I don’t get it! It has no value, no meaning and no true identification with the Australian culture. It doesn’t even resonate with the younger generation and even if that’s what they were trying to achieve, do they think that only young people eat toast?
Some people are questioning whether it was a deliberate ploy by Kraft to generate publicity for the new product. Well they have certainly achieved that; it’s all anyone can talk about. But not because we all find it so inspiring and “cutting edge” – it’s because we all cannot believe how ridiculous it is. It all comes back to the age old question: “Is all publicity is good publicity?” In this case, I would say no. There has been so much backlash over the name, that there are reports circling today that Kraft is looking into changing the name!
According to reports in The Sydney Morning Herald today, Kraft head of corporate affairs Simon Talbot said: “There’s a distinct possibility that we’ll be critically evaluating the name. The name isn’t resonating with success or favor.” Damn right it isn’t! This was definitely a bad move by Kraft. One they won’t recover from anytime soon.
They may as well just call it cheesymite and be done with it.
*UPDATE: A few hours after posting this blog, new information came to light. Following public backlash, Kraft announced on the afternoon of Wednesday 30 September that the name was a mistake and that they would hold another vote to decide on a new name.
