"advertising" news and stories

Body image, diet culture, waistline obsession -- these are a lot of weighty issues to put on the back of a poor snack chip.

But the makers of Pretzel Crisps seemingly asked for it. After a series of what critics call "pro-anorexic" ad slogans for the delicate, lighter-than-air chips, the latest slogan appears to have done little to mollify the outrage.

First there was the rather obvious "You can never be too thin," emblazoned beneath an image of a stack of the waifish wafers.

Pizza Hut, along with countless other fast-food outlets, has marketed its product not just with images of oozing mozzarella and sizzling chicken wings but with a promise of value. Now Nation's Restaurant News reports that, in a move that may seem counter-intuitive given the current economic climate, the company is switching gears. Rather than focusing on price points or new offerings, Pizza Hut is spotlighting actual employees, putting the emphasis on the diner's in-house experience. Looked at from a larger perspective, the move is a rebranding.

The new tagline, "Your Favorites. Your Pizza Hut," which replaces "America's Favorite Pizza," debuted last Sunday during NFL programming, and it's a potent phrase, Ted Marzilli, senior vice president of New York-based YouGov BrandIndex, told Restaurant News. "By saying 'your favorites, your Pizza Hut,' it's a way for them to hold on to saying that they serve America's favorite pizza and that now you can get it your way. Trying to combine the mass appeal across the country with the individualization that person can have is a potentially powerful message."

If a tantalizing photo of a juicy, well-peppered steak isn't enough to entice you (they don't call it 'food porn' for nothing), perhaps your sense of smell will make your mouth water?

A billboard for the Bloom Grocery chain in central North Carolina is testing this form of temptation by not only featuring a larger-than-life photo of a perfectly pink steak, but also pumping out the smell of black pepper and charcoal.

Before you start thinking, "Fire hazard!," note that these scents are actually manufactured by the company ScentAir Technologies, who typically create custom fragrances for places like casinos and hotels.

Read about the technology behind this olfactory-enhanced advertising campaign and find out how long drivers on N.C. 150 will be seduced by the smell of grilling over at HuffPost Food.

It's tea season in our house and I noticed something missing from Celestial Seasons' Sleepytime tea package: the Sleepytime Bear's family.

You know the Bear: dozing in front of the fire, cat in his lap. Used to be you saw Mrs. Bear and the kids on the side panel, headed off to be while dad dozed. Now the whole family has gone mysteriously missing and Mr. Bear has acquired a big blue radio -- a touch that just screams midlife crisis.

This change in personnel got me to thinking about other iconic food mascots and the makeovers they've received. Today we'll start with the women, with pride of place going to that fictional earth mother, the dark goddess of America's ready-made food unconscious, Aunt Jemima.

You can't keep a good freebie down.

Despite smoking bans at restaurants in cities across the country, the restaurant matchbook is experiencing a "fragile renaissance" of sorts, the New York Times reports.

"When a state or municipality imposes a ban, we see a hesitation in reordering and a fall-off in new business," Mark Nackman, the owner and president of AdMatch, an importer based in New York City told the Times. "Then the volumes start to creep back up, so that within a year or so we see some resurgence in statewide sales. Matches have universal appeal, and that's the mystery -- that one little package could resonate with familiarity, maybe beauty and a feeling of value."

It helps that they're highly collectible. Do you have a matchbook collection or have a favorite matchbook from your dining travels? Spill it in the comments.

[Via New York Times]