Why is it that whenever something interesting happens in the marketing world, it involves the food industry?

Seriously.

There was everything that happened with Mr. Peanut this year, Auntie Anne’s recliner and Popeye’s elaborate prank campaign – heck, there were even tables for squirrels, vertical videos, and moldy burgers.

Luckily, this September, the food industry did not disappoint.

Insomnia Cookies revamps its Pajama Party

Insomnia Cookies already wormed its way into our hearts with its laudable premise: selling cookies to college students into the wee hours of the night.

In a typical year, Insomnia Cookies hosts its annual “pajama party,” where anyone who walks into the stores in pajamas gets free cookies. Of course, 2020 is anything but a typical year, and with coronavirus restrictions, Insomnia adapted its campaign to fit the times.

Rather than offer free cookies, the bakery chain gave out designer face masks which they dubbed “mouth pajamas.” The campaign also featured an Instagram AR filter that let users “try on” the “mouth pajamas.”

The brand even enlisted rapper Leese B. to perform an original song while wearing her mask – er, mouth pajamas, and eating cookies in a short music video posted to TikTok. While it was a fun idea, the execution leaves us with more than a few questions. To begin, the term “mouth pajamas ” is just a bit strange. Pretty sure that 99% of the time you put on pajamas, you are also in your own house and bed, and thus, not needing to wear a mask. As if the rap lyric “Cookie hole stay comfy,” wasn’t already self-evidently uncomfortable, it doesn’t seem to fit into any real-life context. The marriage of masks and cookies seems a bit bizarre considering the fact that it is impossible to eat cookies while wearing one.

And it looks like we’re not the only ones lacking enthusiasm for the campaign; according to Mobile Marketer, the video has not even received 2,000 views on TikTok. Could we just bring back the free cookies?

Bagel Bites doggie pants

Meanwhile, Bagel Bites, a brand of Kraft Heinz, has managed to get 73,000 people to vote in its latest social campaign.

With National Dog Week this week, the brand created a poll on Twitter asking, “How should dogs wear pants?” and even launched a microsite centered around the question.

https://twitter.com/BagelBites/status/1307066572960395265?s=20

The move is part of a broader campaign – “Pizza on a Bagel – We Can All Agree with That” – to increase engagement by posing pop-culture debate questions.

The success of this week’s segment of the campaign is all the more impressive in light of the fact that the brand’s official Twitter account has under 10,000 followers.

Starting on September 23, the brand also sold a limited number of doggie pants for just $19.99 apiece. The 60 available pairs sold out in just a day! Honestly, we just love the image that came along with the campaign:

Dogs in pants

Source: Bagel Bites