The Awl http://www.theawl.com/ Be Less Stupid Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:20:06 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.2 Nasty Australian Yeast Pate Searches For Less Stupid Name http://www.theawl.com/2009/10/nasty-australian-yeast-pate-searches-for-less-stupid-name http://www.theawl.com/2009/10/nasty-australian-yeast-pate-searches-for-less-stupid-name#comments Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:20:06 +0000 Alex Balk http://www.theawl.com/2009/10/nasty-australian-yeast-pate-searches-for-less-stupid-name iWasn'tThinkingKraft's Vegemite iSnack debacle has resulted in the company's decision to withdraw the name-but not the horrific product-and hold yet another competition to choose a moniker. While suspicious minds are already suggesting that "Kraft deliberately chose an utterly rubbish name to provoke outrage and great exposure for the new spread," the company has denied that rumor, claiming that they really are just that stupid. Relatedly, here's a look at some other iconic Australian brands receiving similar treatment.

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]]> iWasn'tThinkingKraft's Vegemite iSnack debacle has resulted in the company's decision to withdraw the name-but not the horrific product-and hold yet another competition to choose a moniker. While suspicious minds are already suggesting that "Kraft deliberately chose an utterly rubbish name to provoke outrage and great exposure for the new spread," the company has denied that rumor, claiming that they really are just that stupid. Relatedly, here's a look at some other iconic Australian brands receiving similar treatment.

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See more posts by Alex Balk

6 comments

]]> http://www.theawl.com/2009/10/nasty-australian-yeast-pate-searches-for-less-stupid-name/feed 6 Nasty Australian Yeast Pate Draws Fire For Stupid Name http://www.theawl.com/2009/09/nasty-australian-yeast-pate-draws-fire-for-stupid-name http://www.theawl.com/2009/09/nasty-australian-yeast-pate-draws-fire-for-stupid-name#comments Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:05:12 +0000 Alex Balk http://www.theawl.com/2009/09/nasty-australian-yeast-pate-draws-fire-for-stupid-name iWasn'tThinkingAustralians are up in arms over the branding of a new version of the country's national snack, Vegemite-a disgusting spread made from the carcasses of diseased koalas. (Kidding! It's made from yeast extract, which is somehow actually much less appealing.) Kraft brought out a variety of Vegemite that contains cream cheese, which was not a big deal because clearly they'll eat anything over there on Prison Island. No, the real trouble came when the company attempted to "crowdsource" the name of the new concoction (as had been done with the original spread back in 1920).

More than 48,000 people responded to a call to come up with moniker for the new combination.... The winner, as coined by a Australian web developer who, by his own admission, has his tongue planted firmly in his cheek: iSnack 2.0.
The reaction, naturally, has been total mockery, including-of course-a Downfall parody.

AdAge sees a valuable lesson in the perils of crowdsourcing, but there's an equally valuable lesson in this story as well: Australians are far more concerned with what comes out of their mouths than what goes into them. Because, seriously, Vegemite? Ewww.

I do feel bad about the koalas though.

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]]> iWasn'tThinkingAustralians are up in arms over the branding of a new version of the country's national snack, Vegemite-a disgusting spread made from the carcasses of diseased koalas. (Kidding! It's made from yeast extract, which is somehow actually much less appealing.) Kraft brought out a variety of Vegemite that contains cream cheese, which was not a big deal because clearly they'll eat anything over there on Prison Island. No, the real trouble came when the company attempted to "crowdsource" the name of the new concoction (as had been done with the original spread back in 1920).

More than 48,000 people responded to a call to come up with moniker for the new combination.... The winner, as coined by a Australian web developer who, by his own admission, has his tongue planted firmly in his cheek: iSnack 2.0.
The reaction, naturally, has been total mockery, including-of course-a Downfall parody.

AdAge sees a valuable lesson in the perils of crowdsourcing, but there's an equally valuable lesson in this story as well: Australians are far more concerned with what comes out of their mouths than what goes into them. Because, seriously, Vegemite? Ewww.

I do feel bad about the koalas though.

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See more posts by Alex Balk

34 comments

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