By Tom Ryan
Welch's has introduced what's believed to be the first-ever consumer ad in a magazine enabling readers to sample a product by licking the ad. The full-page print ads in People magazine last month showed a huge bottle of its grape juice, while the back had a strip that peels up and off, with text that reads: "For a TASTY fact, remove & LICK."
While scent technology -- scratch-and-sniff ads or fragrant ink -- is commonplace in magazines, lickable ads are still in the experimental stage.
First Flavor, the developer of the technology behind the ad, also did in-store marketing patches for a new flavor from Arm & Hammer Advance White toothpaste. First Flavor has also experimented with flavors from cheese pizza to soymilk and children's cold medicines. In some lickable ads, including Welch's, some of the essence of the actual product is added to the strip, while others use both natural and artificial flavors to simulate the taste.
Some marketers clearly remain squeamish about lickable ads, according to The Wall Street Journal. Since magazines are often passed from reader to reader, there's a high chance saliva could be left on an ad.
"We struggled with the concept," Greg Castronuovo, senior vice president and group account director at Initiative, a media buyer that bought a lickable ad for CBS. "There is a lot of pass-along in magazines -- I had a little bit of aversion to it; it's a little unsanitary, perhaps."
According to First Flavor, readers are supposed to peel off the entire sticker on the Welch's ad before licking. If someone doesn't rip off the whole sticker, First Flavor told the Journal, the flap can't reseal, giving consumers an easy way to know whether the ad has already been licked.
Still, even Welch's suspects some consumers passed on the free taste test. "A lot of people won't lick a magazine no matter how good it tastes," said Chris Heye, Welch's marketing chief.
But Paul Caine, president of Time Inc.'s Entertainment Group, which includes People magazine, believes adding taste creates a new way to grab reader attention. The theory goes that using multiple senses to process ads helps consumers build a stronger connections with brands.
"It's hard to forget whose brand you are licking," Lisa Haverty, a cognitive scientist who works in the marketing field, told the Journal. ""If the taste is unpleasant or not good, the ad could flop worse than a regular ad."
Discussion Questions: What do you think of the marketing potential around lickable ads in magazines?