Hostess Bets on Depp to Boost Summer Cup Cake Sales

Kansas City, MO -- Interstate Bakeries Corp., maker of Hostess Cup Cakes, has built its summer promotion around Johnny Depp, who plays Willy Wonka in the Warner Bros. remake of the movie, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The four-week national rollout that began June 27 uses the movie's surrealistic imagery and unique colors in the creative materials as well as the cupcakes themselves to attract moms, who the company hopes are fans of Mr. Depp.A refillable corrugated floorstand printed in yellow-orange and purple colors portrays, on all sides, images of the red velvet-coated Depp rakishly tipping his top hat.IBC developed a sell sheet, brochures and PowerPoint presentations to do store-specific selling of the floorstands that cost an average $10 each. They sell to top management first, then work directly with store managers at national and regional chains.The biggest challenge for both marketer and design team was time, says Kevin Kaul, Hostess marketing manager. "The opportunity was identified in late November, so we had a very rigorous approval cycle. It was a very tight timeline to get from conception to market." Throughout the entire design process, Kaul had to get signoff from the Roald Dahl Estate, Warner Bros. and director Tim Burton.Also, Kaul says it was important to have as much movie imagery on the display as possible, but the product needed to be hero as well. The Hostess Chocolicious Wonka Cakes pictured on the display are shown cut in two to reveal chocolate cupcakes covered with purple frosting decorated with an orange stripe, and filled with purple cream filling.The iconic elements for the display came from Warner Bros. and Burton, and use a tree and swirly patterns to recreate the movie's dreamy mood. "The fonts are very Wonka-ish," says Perry Hunter, president of the brand muffin design group for the agency Barkley Evergreen & Partners Inc., Kansas City, MO, which developed the promotion and related creative elements.The Barkley team designed danglers, the snack display and a multipack display for the movie release and has also completed a customized pallet for Sam's Club as well as the second phase of P-O-P that will be coming in October for the DVD release, which will include a special offer.The floorstands come in two sizes: one that holds 36 two-cake snack packs, and a larger one holding 50 multipacks each containing eight cupcakes. The displays appear in snackfood bakery areas of supermarkets and convenience stores. IBC's route drivers set them up in stores.Another innovation for the product was a clear cellophane wrap, compared to paper wrap for the traditional Hostess Cup Cakes. That created a different set of challenges -- getting the ink right, Hunter says. He and his eight-member team worked with three different printing firms to produce the cellophane packaging and display materials.Hunter says, "We used a special, PMS (Pantone Matching System) spot process for the colors plus the standard four color process ink to keep a true red and true purple. We were at every press check to make sure we maintained the color. One weird thing was that Johnny Depp has a very white makeup (in the movie), so his face is very pale. It was tough to get him to look appetizing. That was a real challenge."Printers working with Barkley's design team were: BEMIS of Pleasant Prairie, WI, on snack-pack colors; Malnove Inc. of Omaha, NE, on the multi-pack; and Vanguard Companies of Kansas City, MO, on the floorstands.

Hostess Bets on Depp to Boost Summer Cup Cake Sales

P2PI MEMBERS

JOIN P2PI

Related Images

Business Topic

Market Segment

P2PI MEMBERS

JOIN P2PI

Related Images

Related Articles

Business Topic

Market Segment