Vegemitegate: was it all one massive con job?

Jack from Perth says:

04:26pm | 30/09/09

Just call it “Shit in a Jar” and be done with it.

jazz says:

04:32pm | 30/09/09

Should this article not be titled Snackgate? as, of Course nobody is currently debating the name of Vegemite only its associated product.

Rob says:

04:33pm | 30/09/09

Maybe they should sell the stuff in a tin - twice canned you might say

Clem says:

04:34pm | 30/09/09

Nah, there’s no conspiracy. I think this is just further confirmation that marketing fools abound.

Lily says:

04:41pm | 30/09/09

Best ‘viral’ marketing campaign ever? Possibly.

WC says:

04:42pm | 30/09/09

I think this is one of those genuine and glorious stuff ups which corporate giants can sometimes fall into.  I personally enjoyed the flames.

Bob says:

04:49pm | 30/09/09

Great, this means my entry of Excremite is still in the running!

Mattyo says:

04:50pm | 30/09/09

Let’s all vote for “iSnack 3.0” just to mess with Kraft.

Morgwn says:

04:50pm | 30/09/09

I’ve thought it was a hoax from the start. Too crap to be true, not in 2009.

They are now guaranteed to sell out of iSnack branded product in record time and why would they release details about just how many jars are sitting in warehouses and hitting stores today?

The only thing we can do now is… return iSnack 2.0 to power in the next round of voting. Come on people!

Rob says:

04:51pm | 30/09/09

So anyone taking bets on the new name? iMite?

J.N. says:

04:53pm | 30/09/09

All publicity is good publicity. And now they are changing it? All the better for Kraft.

Jolly good show.

Mike says:

04:54pm | 30/09/09

Whether this is a marketing campaign or a cock-up that Foghorn Leghorn would be proud of ... it’s all pointless if you have yet to sell one damn jar.

Why they didn’t just stick with Vegimite ‘n’ Cheese is beyond me BTW.

Bereft Skerrick says:

05:05pm | 30/09/09

A rose by any other name would be just as sweet.

But in this case the name stank like manure.

Nicholas Eldridge says:

05:06pm | 30/09/09

Unintentional viral campaign is unintentional.

Arjen Lentz says:

05:08pm | 30/09/09

a) they could just pick the runner up from the name shortlist now, rerunning the whole competition is daft.
b) central stock can be relabeled if they want. What’ll actually happen now is that people will keep the ones with the iSnack label, it’ll become a collector’s item. Some will buy a new jar and not even open it. Sells more, again.

Think Out Loud says:

05:08pm | 30/09/09

Mattyo made me laugh out loud.  (I refuse to abbreviate it)

When I was a kid we used to call the original product vaginamite just to be naughty, but I’m starting to think that’s an even better name for the new product. 

Kate says:

05:09pm | 30/09/09

‘iMite Not’ how about that for a new name?

Agent says:

05:12pm | 30/09/09

It would have made much more sense to call it Vegemite 2.0…..

Grant says:

05:21pm | 30/09/09

Most of us knew from the start that soon after announcing that name, Kraft would backpedal and change it.  The name was so obviously ridiculous!  This has definitely been a publicity stunt from the very beginning.
Shame I like the taste or I would boycott to point out how stupid Kraft was in trying to fool us on this one.

Shane says:

05:26pm | 30/09/09

It should give Wil Andersen some material for when/if the Gruen Transfer returns anyway.

acker says:

05:30pm | 30/09/09

“Beer Dreg Concentrate”

Clover says:

05:31pm | 30/09/09

Mattyo, I’m with you!

Brett says:

05:32pm | 30/09/09

Yeah I agree Mattyo, let’s go with “iSnack 3.0”.  Version 2.0 was sooo yesterday!

Mike says:

05:38pm | 30/09/09

I don’t think it’s a hoax. The sheer damage to the vegemite brand from this debacle cannot be outweighed by the awareness among consumers. When a brand is as large as Vegemite it does not need the scandal or ‘hoax’ media attention to gather publicity, the name was announced at a grand final!

This is a ‘new coke’ or ‘poochie’ situation pure and simple, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a public vote system for the new name so Kraft can say “you chose it”. I believe the name was chosen by a committee, and this was a contributing factor to such a terrible choice.

Elbogrease says:

05:41pm | 30/09/09

it doesn’t have much flavour anyway

shabangabang says:

05:45pm | 30/09/09

Brand your product so the name tells the customers what the product is. Vege-shite is a winner.

Iberian says:

05:55pm | 30/09/09

you don’t mess with an icon….......trying to make vegemite “more relevant” to todays Gen x and y is a total waste of time. You either like it or you don’t . You either had your parents cram it down your throat and became used to it or you didn’t. If the real stuff is Vegemite can the new stuff be Vegemay !

Belinda says:

05:58pm | 30/09/09

Yup we have to vote iSnack 3.0 ... It’ll make the Kraft CEO’s head ‘asplode

BB says:

06:05pm | 30/09/09

Back in the early 90s s one of my friends was on the board of a very large food company.  They planned to enter the corn chip market. The morons from marketing actually called the chips OBs (sounds like obese).  The were never actually released onto the market.

sharius says:

06:07pm | 30/09/09

Um yes.Great publicity.And I am true blue aussie and HATE the stuff.My husband hates .My kids hate it.Its axel grease dipped in salt.

Clay says:

06:07pm | 30/09/09

Having Labor in government is a greater con job. Enjoy unemployment!

mike oxlong says:

06:17pm | 30/09/09

ifap 2.0 FTW

Julian P says:

06:29pm | 30/09/09

How about this name ... Supermite .... or Mightymite ... Cheesymite .... Aussiemite or Ozimite ... Superbite ... Mightybite .... Wondermite ... or can you think of anything better? I can’t.

iSnack 2.0 - what an absolute farce!

Chris says:

06:30pm | 30/09/09

Yep, keep dogs and bark youself!!  Why employ advertising agencies who are experts in branding when you have on-staff marketing geniuses to really stuff up your brand. Beyond belief - hmm perhaps that’s a clue to a new name.

Samuel says:

06:40pm | 30/09/09

I have no problem with a new Vegemite being released.  I don’t think it will do well, but it has no effect on real vegemite whether there exists an alternative.  The real issue is the sheer tackiness of the name.  I am glad to read that many have had my same reaction of “this is just a bunch of suits trying to sound ‘hip’ and ‘down with the kids’”.  Even Vegemite 2.0 would’ve been a better name.  I just don’t understand how a company so successful could let something so calamitous through.  Why didn’t someone, anyone, look at that name and say “No, this is really bad”?  The suggestion that it might be a con is the only reasonable explanation, and the only way Kraft does not fire a lot of people.

George Hall says:

06:50pm | 30/09/09

Seperate to the competition, I was using a spredgemite/spreadgemite hashtag on Twitter from July 20th onwards.  Will be intrigued to see if that name is a major contender.

Gary Weiher says:

06:52pm | 30/09/09

Thank ‘you’ for common sense. That name was a joke - and 48,000+ people agreed. Never again, shall I purchase that product.

skeety says:

07:03pm | 30/09/09

Anyone checked the very high fat content in this new one? Guaranteed to block up your arteries, so why not be honest & call it…... Vegibipas?

VOTE iSnack 2.1 LOL says:

07:08pm | 30/09/09

How about Vegemite W/Cheese Spread, Vegemite V2, iSnack 2.1 LOL

Daniel says:

07:25pm | 30/09/09

It was one huge pathetic publicity stunt that I wish would disapear. Its a huge con. We have more important issues that the News Ltd should be reporting on.

LC says:

07:34pm | 30/09/09

lol @ Bob says:03:49pm

T.C. says:

07:47pm | 30/09/09

I’m off to trademark Homos Smegma before Kraft try and snaffle it.

Clinton says:

09:14pm | 30/09/09

Hey Kraft - Maybe open the wallet and commission some experts, you know, those black turtle neck wearing, latte sipping creatives at branding agencies. Then when it comes out and everyone STILL hates it, the media can also make a fuss about how much it cost. Great.

Yet another example of the fundamental stupidity of marketers at all levels of the industry - from the blue chip brands to the smallest enterprise. There are very many smart, passionate people working in branding, design and advertising agencies. Yes the stereotypes are that they are wankers - but since when was a stereotype true?

The best efforts of these industry are constantly and infuriatingly sabotaged by moronic marketing people who are almost universally lazy, disorganised and fundamentally ignorant of how to do their job.

Marketing and PR, in my opinion, is largely responsible for the downward spiral of society.

Michael says:

09:54pm | 30/09/09

It definitely has signs of being a publicity stunt:

1.  A competition with no prize - surely a multi-national company like Kraft could offer a prize for a bona fide competition.
2. If the competition did not have a prize, then there is not so much of a problem with choosing a popular name that was submitted by more than one person. All the people who thought of the name would be listed in recognition and there would be no prize to share.
3. The name iSnack 2.0 was a creative, highly original name, and often companies hold competitions to help come up with new, creative names but offer a prize to reward this creativity. Unusually, in this circumstance, no prize was offered to the winner and is consistent with it being a cheap viral marketing campaign.
4. The name chosen is quite ridiculous - even the winner said that it was a bit of tongue in cheek.
5. There has been no report of any demotion or changes to position within the Kraft marketing department which would be consistent with an acknowledgment of a marketing error. There is definitely a problem with the person(s) who picked the winning name in not knowing the difference between a snack and a spread and calling a spread product a snack.

ShaneO says:

10:23pm | 30/09/09

Old saying: Always suspect a f**k up before a conspiracy!

Am voting iSnack 3.0 - pure gold!

Michael says:

11:32pm | 30/09/09

Also note how the winner is wearing a vegemite T-shirt

Julie Coker-Godson says:

12:28am | 01/10/09

LOL, some of the posts on here are hilarious.  What a fuss!  I love it - and the Vegemite BTW.

Leo W'ski says:

01:38am | 01/10/09

Heck its an american company now, and I *bet* somewhere that it was toned down for their tastes…so why not AmericaMite….we will all know to stay away from it then more then!

findles says:

07:08am | 01/10/09

iCon

jonathan says:

08:45am | 01/10/09

Nonetheless, EVERYONE in Australia is talking about it.  Vegemite (the original) is unassailable as a product/brand/whatever, but now we all know there’s a new thing out there, whether we like it or not.

My first thought was “SCAM”, but then you just have to look at other marketing campaigns to realise just how stupid marketing companies are.  So intentional or not, it’s a massive win for Kraft.  I for one welcome our new corporate overlords…

Margaret says:

12:34pm | 01/10/09

the point (for me) is that the product is not Vegemite and shouldn’t be marketed as such .  As long as the Kraft co keep my favourite spread they can concoct other products at will & then have a go at marketing them.  Just don’t a) take away my Vegemite and b) market any new product with a new logo & a new name.

Uh huh says:

02:07pm | 01/10/09

according to that Ross fella on the Today show,  the name Cheesymite is owned by Baker’s delight, for thier Cheesymite scrolls…...

Helzie says:

03:37pm | 01/10/09

Just ’ Number 2 ’ would be good.  It adequately describes the jar’s contents.

Liz says:

04:06pm | 01/10/09

Why do we need a new product? Let alone a new name.

Sodastir says:

05:13pm | 01/10/09

Watching this from the USA I couldn’t help but think “soon to appear on shelves here” - but it won’t sell. Most of us are just as sick of the entire i-thing as you. The “iSnack 2.0” idea is so cynical and shallow that it can’t be anything but a con.
And to Leo W’ski, most “Americans” are regular people, just like you(?). I even love your Aussie rules football (though the refs should still be wearing black and white). The USA has a long-standing love affair with Australia. Don’t be a hater!

Paul says:

02:54am | 02/10/09

What wanker had to go and name this article Vegemitegate?
Take any issue and some intellectual pygmy (no offence to pygmies intended) has to suffix it with “gate”.
Have you no imagination what-so-ever?
Don’t bother answering that.  The answer is self evident.

Jay says:

10:12am | 02/10/09

Sadly, I don’t think this is a con-job. We’re a pretty apathetic country when it comes to standing up for ourselves. How else does one explain John Howard being PM?

The fact that IR laws could get by with little public backlash. That GST could be passed through despite looking nothing like it was advertised to the country. Or the current Rudd administration and the seeming belief that Australians aren’t able to think for themselves or act responsibly. We bitch about it but we don’t actually care enough to do something about it.

And finally we stand up as a nation and shout “No! This isn’t good enough!” for a sandwich spread? Are you kidding me?

It’s enough to make me want to emigrate.

John in Sydney says:

10:22am | 02/10/09

I’ll agree with those readers above that suspect an elaborate marketing plan. I agree with the comments that iSnack 2.0 is just too cringe-worthy to be serious and they always knew that it would be changed, generating mass (free) publicity in the media.

Just another point that hasn’t slipped under my radar:

Kraft appears to be an advertiser on channel 9. There were several ads for one of their other products during the Hey Hey show on Wed night. It was on the same show that a kid on the ‘Red Faces’ segment smeared Vegemite all over himself and won. Kraft would have know that this show would have been a ratings goldmine.

Maybe still not enough to support a conspiracy, except the following night (Thu) on Nine’s ACA program, they ran a segment on the return of Hey Hey. During the segment, they interviewed the kid and next to him was a black, waist-height pillar with a jar of Vegemite as well as one of the new stuff on it. The kid then proceeded to smear the new stuff on his arm to show how easy it is to spread! I was gobsmacked! How obvious!

George Hall says:

12:38pm | 02/10/09

Here’s a name that’s been the subject of a Twitter hashtag since July 20th…Spredgemite.  Alternative spelling: Spreadgemite.  Have been reading some of the other names from the original competition and think there were some real droll names other than iSnack.

So why not “Spredgemite…spread the word.”?

George Hall says:

11:25pm | 02/10/09

Now that the other 6 final names have been released…it’s apparent the marketing department at Kraft need a shakeup.  The final 6 really lack any imagination or sense of history.  So it looks like another #vegefail coming.  In the meantime, Spredgemite is starting to pick up on Twitter.  Heck, even Mel from Sunrise On Seven likes the spredgemite name.  And see if this tugs at your heart-strings:  “I said do you speak-a my language/he just smiled and gave me a SPREDGEMITE sandwich.”  Heck, even as a BRAND Spredgemite can stand on its own and still remind people of vegemite.  So…“Spredgemite…spread the word.”

New Immigrant says:

12:44am | 04/10/09

Enjoyed all the posts here…keep spreading!

Jen says:

06:54pm | 07/10/09

i liked the 7pm project show’s suggestions…
” Ya-Mum-Mite”
“Voldymite” ( the name that must not be named”
CheesyVeg