Dive Brief:
- Ore-Ida, the frozen potato brand owed by Heinz, is running an ad and marketing campaign aimed at protecting the brand name of its Tater Tots product.
- The campaign, a revival and expansion of an earlier campaign, warns consumers against eating "imi-tators," -- frozen nuggets that aren't really Tater Tots.
- The ads come as Ore-Ida celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Tater Tot, and as parent company Heinz struggles to boost sales of frozen foods.
Dive Insight:
Tater Tots are one of those rare products that have become so well-known that their brand name has become the common name of a wider class. Brands like that -- Band-Aid adhesive bandages and Kleenex facial tissue -- are wise to protect their names from dilution.
More importantly, the "imi-taters" campaign is funny, tongue-in-cheek way of addressing the problem that Tater Tots face.