Leveraging Pop Culture in Your Marketing

Small is in; from creating a “baby” or mini version of something, like Baby Yoda and Baby Groot, to Mini Brands and tiny homes. It’s safe to say that the average person is familiar with Baby Yoda, whether or not they have even seen The Mandalorian.

This trend isn’t new. Babies, puppies and kittens have been used time and again to draw attention and sell a product. Right now, Baby Yoda, Baby Groot and Baby Nut are using our instinctual love of babies to get our attention.

Using current trends from pop culture in your marketing can successful – if it’s done right.

Does it make sense?

Jumping on the baby train wouldn’t make sense for most brands, but for Planters it was perfect.

How can you make it your own?

Create a compelling story that draws your audience in and keeps them interested.

Baby Yoda was immediately popular because of his association with an epic and compelling story, and stories sell. Writing their own saga, Planters used the announcement of Mr. Peanut’s demise as a kind of teaser. It posed the question, “Who is going to be the new face of Planters?” At its best, killing off Mr. Peanut drew us in, making us care about the brand and what would happen next. At its worst, the weirdness of a well-known, 104-year-old brand character dying brought Planters some renewed attention.

Announcing Baby Nut was just the beginning. Planters continues to tell the Baby Nut story, primarily on Twitter, building loyalty for Baby Nut and for the Planters brand. I expect we’ll see Baby Nut grow up and turn into Mr. Peanut II.

How can you start a conversation and involve your audience?

One thing that Planters has masterfully done is utilize their audience, including other big brands, to their benefit. For instance, engaging with brands like Kool-Aid and Hard Rock has really paid off.

We asked our Art Director to “baby-fy” some our favorite brand characters, along with some marketing campaign inspiration.

Baby Pringles

“Once you pop, you can’t stop.” Imagine this: A television commercial featuring a pregnant woman who can’t stop eating Pringles.

Tony the Tiger has a baby

Special Edition cereal box sold only in June to celebrate Father’s Day.

Being a father is grrrrreat!

Pequeña Chiquita

A campaign focused on helping infants and young children eat more nutritious, Chiquita bananas accompanied by an updated jingle,

“I’m a Chiquita banana baby and I’ve come to say

Bananas help you grow strong, every day!”

Marketing doesn’t always involve reinventing the wheel. Take note of what resonates with you as you watch TV, scroll Instagram or what repeatedly gets reshared on Facebook. Pick up a magazine, watch the latest show on Disney+ or try downloading the newest app the kids are using these days, all in the name of marketing research, of course! As Jean-Luc Godard said, “It’s not where you take things from–it’s where you take them to.”