Branding consultant Rob Frankel isn’t a fan of Crispin Porter + Bogusky’s use of Ted Williams for its client Kraft. If you recall, Ted Williams was the homeless man who found fame when, earlier this month, it was discovered he had the perfect announcer voice in a Columbia Dispatch video.
While the new Kraft Macaroni & Cheese commercial has received 933,000 views since it hit YouTube January 7, Frankel thinks the whole thing is just another opportunistic agency ploy, telling Mashable, “It’s clearly another one of those opportunistic stunts by creatively bankrupt agencies who jump on any trend they think can take them to the top of a Twitter trend.”
But shouldn’t any good marketing program avail itself of opportunities just like this? Is there any harm in riding the publicity train for commercial gain? After all, that’s a big part of marketing; getting notoriety which, one hopes, translates into sales.
Yes, Ted Williams is a blip on the radar for Kraft. But where would Kraft Macaroni and Cheese be without Williams? Ask yourself this; when was the last time a staple as mundane as Kraft Macaroni and Cheese was at the forefront of anything?
