Say Goodbye To Julius Pringles??

By Jason Fidler

Unless you live under a rock then you already know.  No, I’m not talking about the royal wedding, the near-shutdown of the Federal Government, or the birther debate.  I’m referring to the earth-shattering revelation that earlier this month the Pringles brand was sold by Procter and Gamble to Diamond Foods.

After that settles in for the few of you who didn’t know, it should be noted that the purchase of Pringles brings to light an important issue facing many iconic brands in this modern era of marketing.  As Bruce Horovitz of USA Today recently pointed out, Pringles is struggling (think about it, when was the last time you bought a tube?).  How do brands continue to succeed, when the marketing methods used in the past that made them so successful in the first place are either antiquated or irrelevant?

Pringles achieved significant success employing traditional marketing methods such as a catchy slogan (“Once you pop the fun don’t stop!”) and commercials which highlighted the snack’s lack of grease compared to normal potato chips.  While today’s definition of “health food” is still not very strict, brands can no longer tout the nutritional benefits of being “less greasy than a mass-marketed potato chip.”  Even the once-beloved Julius Pringles (more commonly known as the owner of the fifth most famous mustache in history behind Super Mario, Catfish Hunter, this guy, and Ron Swanson) is now seen as a possible detractor to younger audiences, as is pointed out by Horowitz.  Does the mustache need to go?

What do you think are the remedies to Pringles’ ailments?  Should the brand focus on revamping itself via social media?  Should they change the packaging?  Should a new recipe include more nutritional ingredients?  Is the world prepared to say goodbye to Julius as we know him?  Let us know what you think!

3 comments April 29th, 2011