KRAFT SHOULD HAVE NOODLED THIS ONE OVER MORE

Kraft, along with their aptly named agency partner MISCHIEF, recently launched and then promptly rescinded a campaign encouraging consumers to “Send Noods” with a sexual, tongue-in-cheek overlay. The campaign, #SendNoods, featured a blurred-out picture of a bowl of Kraft Mac & Cheese, and a play on the misspelling of “Nudes.” The first 7,000 consumers using the hashtag could have the brand send a box of Mac & Cheese to someone they cared about. A digital video featured Saturday Night alum Vanessa Bayer struggling to clarify that participants should send noodles, not nude pictures.

To put it mildly, this provocative marketing campaign around National Noodle Day created a stormfront of backlash and outrage on social media, ranging from soccer Moms to QAnon conspiracy believers. Kraft ended the campaign early, deleting all the promotion’s assets from the promotion. 

So just what in the world was Kraft and Mischief thinking, especially around a comfort food beloved by kids? Sometimes what seems like a crafty creative idea in the planning turns out to be more like the Cuban Bay of Pigs Invasion, a prime example of “groupthink” where a group gets so caught up in a spirit of camaraderie and reinforcement that they fail to account for all the downsides, and suppress all doubts and dissent. This proves especially true at a time when consumers feel anxious about COVID, the economy, and the havoc and upheaval of 2020. 

In a recent survey of 740 consumers from Influence Central’s Insights Panel, consumers shared that they don’t trust brands to get humor or comedic relief right. Only 21% welcomed any brands attempts at lightening the situation, and this statistic has stayed constant since the onset of COVID in March through the end of September.

Kraft’s failure at humor Kraft-i-ness needs to serve as a stark reminder to brands as we enter the marketing push for the holiday season.