Snickers breaks into the “energy market”

This Halloween, Snickers could give “sugar buzz” a whole new meaning. If parents don’t pay attention, their kids may get more buzz than they bargained for, as the newest trend in candy is the addition of caffeine and vitamins to the ingredient list. This year, Mars brand Snickers launched their new Limited Edition Snickers Charged, with 60 milligrams of caffeine, taurine and other B vitamins. Other candies boast ingredients such as electrolytes and ginseng. While reaction to taste is mixed, recently there has been a surge of critical attention given to the marketing of the amped candy.

A timely Wall Street Journal article notes the many challenges faced by candy marketers, including concern for diabetes and obesity among children. Overall, sales of sugar confectionary dropped by 4% from over the past five years, while sales of energy drinks rose more than 400%, according to the article.

To stay competitive, the candy market has mimicked not only the ingredient lists of popular energy drinks, but the edgy promotions as well. For some critics, names and packaging are too suggestive of illicit drugs (a candy called “Crackheads”?), and many feel that caffeine is unsuitable for children, the primary market for candy companies.

Will Snickers pave the way for a whole new market of caffeinated candy bars? Does this candy bar controversy have enough legs to earn Snickers Charged a spot as one of the Most Memorable New Products of 2008?

The Sprint Instinct: A for Effort

The new Sprint Instinct has launched, and to most consumers it will be seen as another iPhone copy-cat that has more cons than pros. Despite this, one thing is for sure – Sprint is certainly trying. This week Sprint launched the “Sell Out with Sprint” video campaign, which asks consumers to send in the “greatest product placement movie of all time.” The campaign is asking users to create home and post home videos to YouTube, using the Instinct as obvious product placement. The first 1,000 videos will receive $25 from Sprint.

According to the campaigns creative director, Christian Haas, the slogan “Sell Out with Sprint” is asking users to “Sell out Hollywood style, letting your integrity go, for cold hard cash.” The way I see it, this campaign is a low risk, high reward tactic. It gives Sprint a chance to reach out to consumers and offers them the chance to be creative. Sprint could have just continued running a series of ads featuring reasons why it is better than the iPhone, but there’s the who cares factor. Nobody will buy the Instinct over the iPhone, just because the internet might be a little faster or because it might be slightly more petite; the iPhone is the 800 pound guerilla that will not be taken down, especially now that it costs only $199.

“We needed to be able to talk about the features with a sense of humor because the iPhone is one of the most desired products that has come out in a long time,” Hass explained. “We needed a platform that we can talk about the features without being an infomercial.” Sprint might not be the best product available, but that’s not always what makes a product memorable. If this campaign can catch fire, and cause a stir in the media and online, it will give the Instinct a lift to possibly become a Most Memorable product for 2008.

The contest runs through August 1^st, and the finalists will be voted on and picked by August 8^th. After that, the public will pick a winner, and voting will end August 22^nd.