welch’s: lick me.

So, this is kinda weird and disgusting. This month in People magazine Welch’s ran some grape juice ads with a lickable taste strip. If you can get over how ugly this ad is, then I guess it makes sense… except for the fact that it’s totally gross. I get the feeling this isn’t actually an attempt to create viable lick n’ tast advertising, but more of a publicity stunt. Maybe I could understand if it was Welch’s Starfruit Juice or Welch’s Durian Juice or Welch’s Cumquat Rambutan Beetroot Medley, but who in North America doesn’t know what grape juice tastes like?

I guess they figured the novelty of the licking strip would make up for a complete lack of messaging, style, design acumen, meaning, and attractiveness. Despite the fact that the ad itself says “remove & lick”, the makers of the strips – First Flavour – had to release a statement saying that “Our product, which can be attached to a print ad and peeled off, is a sealed tamper evident foil pouch containing a piece of edible film. (Similar to popular breath strips.) One peels opens the pouch and places the piece of edible film on your tongue. The edible film dissolves quickly leaving you with a burst of flavor. No licking involved!”

Anything that requires that much explanation (especially for something that should be as straight-forward as this) is just a poorly executed idea. Welch’s sucks.