“What will you gain when you lose?”
That’s the new Special K tagline. It’s really very good, seeing as how they’re all about being the cereal to eat if you’re trying to lose a little weight. The problem is that this new ad they’re using it in shows how jeans ought to be sized all with complimentary adjectives rather than numbered sizes, and that doesn’t really make it seem like losing weight should mean anything, and as such, not a goal so much as a prejudice. And then their whole market strategy of being the weight loss cereal falls apart. See what I mean?
But it’s a really good tagline, based upon their time-honored marketing strategy of being the weight loss cereal. (Unless they meant that if you lost at love, or lost a game, or a job, that you'd gain a lot of weight by binge eating. It could mean that, too. And then it wouldn't be such a good tagline.)
Look, the ad I’m talking about is the one with that seriously beautiful brunette going to the department store and looking at jeans that all have sizes that are words like: “Sassy”, etc., rather than numbers. Now, this ad idea is great for women’s self esteem, but how does this fit into the whole weight loss thing? This ad makes it look like nobody should need to lose weight. So then why do they need Special K?
Here’s this ad (I love this ad and this concept, but not for Special K. Because after all, can’t you be a “size Sassy” anyway, without eating Special K? Or do you only get to feel good about yourself if you eat their cereal? I’d say this ad would work really well for a new brand of plus-sized jeans that used such an adjective-based sizing system: Now that’s an idea!):
But for an ad that works especially well to sell Special K for their weight loss marketing strategy, check out this other Leo Burnett spot:
(BTW: I always wondered why Blondie’s “One Way or Another” {I’m gonna getcha getcha getcha...} didn’t become the theme song for a CSI clone TV show of police procedural murder mysteries. The lyrics would be perfect! Maybe someone’s already used it but I missed it?)
