Kraft cans Vegemite iSnack2.0

Kraft has announced that it's dropping the name Vegemite iSnack2.0 for its cream-cheese-impregnated Vegemite following a severe shoeing from outraged Aussies. Just a few days after the company trumpeted that 27-year-old web designer Dean Robbins had beaten off over 48,000 rival suggestions from fellow Australians to brand the …

[Neil Barnes]

I don't see why there's such a hoo-haa

It's all a poor substitute for Marmite anyway!

PH, because for some reason the phrase 'covered in marmite' came to mind...

[Anonymous Coward]

Marketing!!!

isnack2.0 WTF???

Every marketing person I talk to seems to be devoid of common sense. If it's the copies the last fad or trend, it must be great, so they at the moment they are all masterbating furiuosly over twitter on their iPhones.

So to all marketing people why don't you just shove your isnack2.0 up you i-arse and i-f**koff and find something more i-useful to do with your i-miserable i-life!!

Good on the Aussie public for not listening to them. Have a beer.

[Anonymous Coward]

marketing muppets

... still don't get the idea that things get a little bit cool then very uncool very quickly.. the 'i' thing soon lost it's spark and anything 2.0 is only talked about by people who have no idea what it is or why it is so crap as a name.

[Rosco]

Joke name

Vegemite asked the public for suggestions and a web designer says he submitted iSnack2.0 as a joke. I believe him - it's a pretty clear parody of tech buzzword trends and I can't believe the marketing drones at Vegemite didn't realise that. Strewth!

[Anonymous Coward]

As an antipodean myself, I feel I must point out

the guy was being ironic when suggesting such a name (using an "i" prefix and a "2.0" suffix for an obviously non-technical product)

Anyway, what was wrong with my suggestion of "smegma"?

[HFoster]

Sore wrists?

Beat off 48,000 rivals, eh?

Paris. QED

[Richard 81]

@AC

Calm down dear, it's only a commercial.

Still it is rather like the marketing chaps at Kraft just couldn't take it and blew their annoying internet speak load all over this one. Would you like some iTweetBlogFacebookSnack2.0 on your toast?

[SlabMan]

Why am

iNotSurprised?

The iWord is as dated as bakelite. Apple gets a pass as they popularised it and achieved brand ubiquity. Otherwise, the iPrefix should be buried in a light-blue, radius-cornered, transparent plastic iCoffin.

Still - an improvement on Vegemite which sounds like a parasitic insect that infests carrots. Tastes like it too.

[Dave Harris]

Thanks

for the h/t, Lester. oh, wait a minute... (see comments on the original article)

[jai]

doesn't rhyme or fit the song

Buying bread from a man in brussels

He was six foot four and full of muscles

I said, do you speak-a my language?

He just smiled and gave me a iSnack2.0 sandwich

And he said.....

[all together now, sing along!!]

[Chris 67]

More importantly

When will Vulture Central be making Regemite available for purchase online?

[Anonymous Coward]

Now that's clever marketing

By withdrawing it now, not only have they gotten gullible journos to give them yet *another* round of free advertising by writing about it, but they've also ensured that all those stocks that would otherwise have languished unwanted and laughed-at on the shelves will now be rapidly sold out in no time as they get snapped up by people who think they'll be valuable collectors' rarities one day.

I'm sure Simon Talbot is crying red-faced all the way to the bank.

[Throatwobbler Mangrove]

Full marks to Kraft foods

They got three waves of publicity out of this: 1 during the competition, 1 with the result, and 1 a week later when they reverse the result. Can they get another in about three months' time when they re-relaunch?

[Asgard]

I think iSnack2.0 is a brilliant name...

As a PR stunt to generate interest in a *new* product. But they would never admit it was a PR stunt, that would ruin the effect of the stunt ... Who would have thought marketing people can lie.

Then after all the gullible and trusting people start talking about the product name, Kraft simply change the name.

Who wouldn't hate iSnack2.0 as a name? :) ... its like waving a red rag at a bull. A lot of people are going to react. After all sales and marketing people earn their living manipulating peoples perception, so out right lying and duplicity is very easy for them. They are not people you can trust.

They don't care they are lying to others, they are only interested in their own gain from lying and behind your back, they will often be celebrating winning over people.

p.s. I said “iSnack2.0 is a brilliant name” in the title, to get your attention. I actually hate the name, but I said brilliant to illustrate how manipulation works. It helped to make you read to this point. Sales and marketing people (and many bosses & politicians) often have a very manipulative duplicitous behavior which is why we all have to become cynical of what they say and instead question *why they say it* and always ultimately why they say it will be for personal gain from saying it. You just have to find the why. Follow the money as they say, because profit will be hidden behind their actions and they don't have empathy for others. They are more interested in themselves.

(Sales and marketing people's manipulative behavior is predominately centered around seeking attention for something (HPD) whereas bosses & politicians manipulation behavior is predominately centered around seeking money and power (NPD) after all, money is power over people who don't have and need money. Both HPD and NPD don't have empathy for others, they don't care they are lying, they even consider themselves better for winning over trusting people. NPDs are known for their self interest but even people who seek attention don't have empathy for the people they take attention from. Its still a form of self interest and an attitude they use in their work in sales and marketing).

[TeeCee]

I don't understand.

There's already a perfectly good word for marmite (or vegemite) blended with cream cheese.

It's called "vomit". Only bloody place I've ever seen the two mixed and quite rightly too.

[Pete 6]

Marmite > Vegimite

Nuff said.

[Simon Harvey]

Who gives a rats abut the name ...

it tastes like shite. Complete shite.

I think some of the following would be more appropriate:

- Un-Austrailan

- Vegeshite

- Marmite (well we know it tastes like crap)

grrrrr

[Stevie]

Bah!

Ironic? Ah, I understand now. I didn't know 27 year old web designers did ironic. I thought they played to their strengths and did moronic. Learn something every day.

[LaeMi Qian]

Marketers...

...remember kids, if these people weren't working in marketing, they would probably be working as psychologists. Be glad we have a marketing career path to soak these people away from places they can do REAL damage to innocent people.

BTW: Here is a product name that the marketing department would NEVER accept in a million years:

"Vegemite with Cheese"

Dropping the 'with' or adding a 'now' after same word is optional at marketing department's discretion (assuming that doesn't choice-overload their widdle brains)

[Reverend Brown]

So Apple centric.

I guess I wouldn't expect marketing geniuses to use something from the red devil of Redmond.

My Vegemite, anyone?

[Mike Echo]

If it is a stunt

then the day it is able to be proved is the day the company will lose a *lot* of credibility (and gain a *lot* of scorn) I reckon. It's a dangerous gamble if it is a PR stunt.

Also, I don't blame the guy for coming up with such an idiotic name, I blame the decision makers who actually thought it was a good name. Idjits.

Oh, they sell Marmite here in Oz so I must buy some and taste it to see what all you limeys are on about, as I lerv Vegemite. I have a feeling though that it will be (like Vegemite) an acquired taste and whichever one you grow up with is the one you love.

[Goat Jam]

iShat

and put it in a jar.

Krafty, eh?

[Anonymous Coward]

EPIC FAIL

hahahahaha

what lame ass marketing droid would brand something without first checking if someone else had a trademark on it?!?!?!

I hope they got sacked, but probably not as the publicity gained by this epic fail is priceless.

The simple fact is that the loyal customers of Vegemite don't want it changed, they don't want a new version, they like it the way it is. Kraft is just peeved that their customers resist all efforts to leverage off the hugely popular Vegemite branding.

[Anonymous Coward]

@Mike Echo

DON'T buy Marmite in Australia - it isn't the English version. Instead, pop along to Coles into their imported foods section and get a couple of jars of MyMate (which is the English version - renamed because the P$%#ks at Sanitarium stole the name)

[Big Pete]

I notice that...

Some enterprising chap has registered cheesymite.com and cheesymite.com.au. You have to give the chap credit for forward thinking.

Oh, and i like my Vegemite straight, just a thin smear on hot buttered toast.

[sT0rNG b4R3 duRiD]

Vegemite

I used to often wonder why one could never get vegemite on the shelves in the shops at home till I got sent down under...

Then I tried it.

Once.

Only.

Whenever I go back now, I return with marmite in my bags. F@#$ 'Border Patrol' the TV series.

(Incidentally, you can find marmite here in its familiar yellow labelled, yellow topped jar under a different name, sometimes, but it's decidedly a bit more costly).

[Winkypop]

Marmite is for kiddies

Vegimite is for MEN [low voice]

[Jacqui Smith's DVD Collection!]

@Goat Jam :D

Love the name, then it got me thinking, then I googled it and found an actual goat jam...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12078476@N07/3539695492/

As for iSnack 2.0, I liked the name, Aussies clearly just aren't geeky enough to understand how great a name thay really is... :(

[Lionel Baden]

@JAI

AHHRRRGGGGGG ]

thats my second keyboard today !!!

[Lionel Baden]

@Goat Jam

AHHRRRGGGGGG ]

thats my third keyboard today !!!

this is getting expensive