2.07.2008

Confused

When Knorr came out with its Makulay ang buhay campaign, I was one of those who were swept up in melodic take, if not too subtle strategy to sell vegetables to kids. The TV ads featured healthy-looking children singing the jingle and obviously relishing their souped vegetables (sinabawang gulay). And the copy was really catchy: “Makulay ang buhay sa sinabawang gulay.”

We took our cue from this ad when it came time for me and my groupmates to implement a project for one of our classes. One of the results was a one-minute jingle titled “Bilin ni Bibo Basurahan” You can hear the jingle at our group’s site.

So, it really bothers me now that their new ad somehow overturns whatever leverage the previous campaign gained. In this new radio ad, a teacher is asking her students to classify food into meat and vegetable. The class got the first one correctly, but the following veggies they classified as meat to the consternation of the teacher. And then a voice over comes on to announce that by adding Knorr meat seasoning, vegetable taste like meat.

I know it’s still selling vegetables to kids (via the taste) but it sort of undermines the message of their earlier campaign. Once again, vegetables are treated as substandard fare and needs to be masked as meat for it to become a treat for kids.

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