What’s the world coming to when a fig snack has an identity crisis? Is the Fig Newton a cookie, a fruit bar, or a mini fruit cake?

Nabisco has always seemed to do well with FN ad slogans, and yet upon closer inspection, they seem to have had multiple personality disorder.

Examples: In the 1980s: “A cookie is just a cookie, but a Newton is fruit and cake.” In 2006, the brand claimed that a Fig Newton contained more fruit than a Nutri-Grain bar. In 2007: “The cookie that thinks it is a fruit.” And yet, the packaging of Newtons state: “Fruit Chewy Cookies.”

So what? you may ask. This all has led branding experts to question whether or not such a dramatic departure from its well known brand is a wise decision.

Despite this scattered branding, I think it raises the question of whether it really matters when your brand is so well known–and entirely unique. The Fig Newton is all those things–a cookie, a fruit bar, and a mini fruit cake. I don’t care. I love them.

Christine Babick is a blogger at www.beneaththebrand.com. A marketing strategist and linguist, she specializes in marketing language, website text, “emo copy,” and cause and relationship marketing.

Article Tags: Add new tag | Advertising | Babick | brand | campaign | Cookie | Fig | Nabisco | Newton
Filed under: Advertising, Branding, Campaign Critiques