As part of a new ad campaign called "Make face time," Dentyne, the No. 2 gum maker in the U.S. (Wrigley is No. 1, in case you were wondering), is making a plea for you young hipsters to "power down, log off, unplug" and chew some gum instead. The ads, which have already appeared in several major cities for the past month, are gearing up to go nationwide, kicked off with a web campaign this week followed by TV ads next week.
According to market research company Mintel, Dentyne Ice sales have fallen 9 percent from 2005 to 2007, with Dentyne Fire tumbling 26 percent in the same time period. The new campaign will seek to reintroduce the Dentyne Ice line and reverse the sliding sales figures by targeting young people who would rather play with their internets than each other.
"Everyone loves technology and everyone uses it," said Josette Barenholtz, the marketing director for Dentyne. "What's meaningful is being reminded that being face to face can't be substituted."
Launching a web campaign would seem to contradict the very message Dentyne is trying to send (you know, the one that says get offline and, um, chew some gum), and so the company has created a 3-minute website (Protip: Be sure and check out how Dentyne feels about smileys). A timer sits in the upper right corner letting you know how much time you have until the site shuts down, because "when people are surfing the web, they're missing the best part of life - being together."
Can't wait to see your comments on this one.
