Monday, April 18, 2011

I Never Realized How Boring Potatoes Were

[Ed. Note: I often receive solicitations to try out various food products or services and while most of them are usually met with a gentle, "Thanks, but no thanks." response, this popped into my Inbox over the weekend and I thought it too funny to simply delete. I hold no ill feelings for those choosing to use Stove Top Stuffing Mix, but seriously, did the person putting this list together even bother reading any of my blog posts? Enjoy!]

from: Blogger Outreach
to: tnoe27@gmail.com
date: Sat, Apr 16, 2011 at 6:05 PM
subject: Bloggers - Are you ready for the un-potato fest contest?

Dear Tom Noe,

Are you ready to show that STOVE TOP Everyday Stuffing Mix "tops" the potato?

STOVE TOP Everyday Stuffing Mix is challenging families to escape the same old, boring potato routine through a contest held by Technorati Media - you could win a $100 American Express gift card!

What We Want You to Write About

We're inviting the blogosphere to participate in a contest to create humorous posts about how potatoes are a boring alternative to STOVE TOP Everyday Stuffing Mix. By providing creative, funny and memorable content that takes a jab at potatoes as "boring," we want to encourage families to consider STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix as an everyday and easy-to-make side dish alternative to instant potatoes. STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix is so "un-boring" it's the "un-potato!"

With its everyday meal appeal, delicious taste and easy prep, STOVE TOP Everyday Stuffing Mix is the perfect side dish solution that complements meat and vegetables alike. Each serving from the convenient STOVE TOP Everyday Stuffing Mix flex canister takes just two minutes to prepare in the microwave no extra pots or dishes to wash. The STOVE TOP Everyday Stuffing Mix canister is re-sealable, so you can make as little or as much as you need, as quickly as you need it.

Examples:

- An image and story of talk show host potato that has put its guests to sleep

- An image and story of a potato totally underdressed in it's [sic] plain old skin for an event

- Showcase kids talking about how boring potatoes are and how they love STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix

- Showcase how potatoes don't cut it - they're so worthless to eat - doorstoppers, brick-fixes (spoof on home entertainment show sponsored by Stove Top)

Seriously, the more creative your posts and images are (as well as appropriate and non-offensive) the better! If it helps, think of the type of humor found in The Onion (http://www.theonion.com) and incorporate that style of comedy into your story.

All you need is your sense of humor (and we know bloggers have the best sense of humor in the world)!

Post Requirements For Contest

- At least 200 words with your "story" about the STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix being the "HERO" over th [sic] BORING POTATO.

- At least one image and/or video about your BORING POTATO or STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix.

- Include An outbound link to:
http://www.facebook.com/stovetop?sk=app_172727006112120 - mentioning the STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix campaign.

- Include the following tag in your post - #unpotatofest

- Post a minimum of one Facebook update, a tweet, or an upload to YouTube (if applicable) to promote your post.

- Video stories about your potato or STOVE TOP stuffing as the "hero" are highly encouraged, though not required.

- Submit your entry by 4/26/11 at: http://bit.ly/fX9q1c

Looking forward to your creativity and good luck!

Scott Lyon

Blogger Outreach Manager

Official Contest Rules:
http://technorati.com/stovetop-unpotato-contest

3 comments:

Birdie said...

I know that you're a person who appreciates whole, fresh ingredients, which is why it shocks me that they sent this to you. How unbelievably disgusting. These companies disturb me

Tino said...

I don't find it disgusting so much as entertaining. I suppose it's like any other spam message ... for every 99 people who say no, 1 person will say yes.

Unknown said...

Hi Tom,

Scott here, the offending emailer. I saw your response and wanted to apologize for any offense with the Un-potato contest promotion. We intended it to be a fun, tongue-in-cheek way to help Kraft promote Stove Top Stuffing and their humorous ad campaign.

The contest wasn’t intended to make nutritional claims, but to to post something light and funny in nature and not malign potatoes of their food value in any way.

I’ll remove you from future blogger outreach around packaged foods, but would welcome working with you on a program that’s better aligned to the editorial content.

Sorry again and lesson learned!

Best,

Scott Lyon

Blogger Outreach Manager

Technorati Media

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