Is Hershey's New Logo Crap?

   

     As I sit in the library wondering what to blog about I keep thinking of words like: real-world, digital age, social media, and more. I am realizing there is so much out there beyond the Library (where I have literally spent the past 3 years of college) but luckily most of this information is at my fingertips. This blog is going to be the beginning of my exploration of the resources and information provided through the digital world.

     For the first post, I decided to start safe with a topic I know well. Chocolate. More specifically, I spent the summer interning as a retail sales representative for The Hershey Company.  I discovered that the candy industry is sometimes all consuming, especially with the super-bowl of candy (aka Halloween) approaching in JUST two months. This summer I guess you can say I’ve adopted the company value of “Hershey in your heart” as well as in my pantry. Needless to say I am completely loyal and invested in The Hershey Company. I tend to be easily offended when my family and friends purchase our competitors brands or talk negatively about Hershey’s in any way. I was especially peeved when I received this text message from my mother: problem with new Hershey logo with the "pile of crap" emoji added to the end of her message. However, I ignored this text and continued on with my day to day activities.

     A few days later, after skimming through some articles on Mashable I was stunned when I found the article: “Hershey’s New Logo Looks A Lot like the Poo Emoji”. The article has pictures of several tweets mocking the new logo. Hershey’s claims to have been trying to create a fresher and more modern look with their iconic Kiss candy logo. The company dropped the silver wrapper and left a two dimensional brown kiss as the new logo. Social media exploded with comparisons and sketches of the logo resembling the “pile of crap” emoji immediately after it was released. Kira Bindrim tweeted: "Hershey's new logo is "just some blinking eyes away from being a poo emoji." with the graphic below. This article has been shared by 14.6 thousand people and I can only imagine how many have read the article and are thinking the same thing. 

     Granted, there could be worse issues for Hershey, this new logo has started a conversation that I can assume the marketing department up in Hershey, Pennsylvania is less than pleased about. However, I began thinking, this little bit of negative but comical chatter could actually be creating a positive buzz.  The candy industry is extremely competitive and with the “super bowl of candy” in just eight weeks, maybe now is the perfect time for Hershey’s to be the butt of a few jokes.

      Everyone’s favorite emoji might just be boosting Hershey sales in the upcoming quarter. Hershey’s sales are driven by impulse.  When entering a grocery store, 98% of customers are potential candy customers because of their impulsive tendencies.  I predict the comical tweets and publicity Hershey's new logo has received will remind customers in the store of the candy company they love when passing the candy isle. on the other hand, if something as comical and trivial as a “pile of crap” emoji can tarnish the reputation of a socially responsible, strong, and wholesome company such as Hershey’s that makes me question the priorities of our generation.  Is this just a joke and something funny to tweet about or are people beginning to use symbols such as emoticons more seriously than intended?

Resources:

http://mashable.com/2014/08/28/hersheys-new-logo-poo/ 

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/236525