Sandra Lee Teams Up With (I Kid You Not) Heartburn Medicine
Friday, March 23, 2007 | posted by Mike
I'm not going to lie to you. Running a blog can be hard work. There are times when you don't feel like writing a story or you just flat-out can't think of anything interesting enough to warrant sitting down and banging out a post. But sometimes -- and this is one of those times -- it's just a little bit too easy.
A press relelase from Procter & Gamble (actually, the PR agency hired by P&G, to be precise) is out on the wire right now talking about Prilosec OTC's sponsorship of the 2nd Annual Bunco Tournament. They're nice enough to include a paragraph explaining what the hell "bunco" is, and you can bet that I'll be running right out and starting up a bunco league with all of my friends.
But the best part of the whole thing is that they've managed to get Sandra Lee to sign on and help promote the event:
"For the women who play Bunco, it's not merely a game, but a reason to connect with female friends for a home cooked meal, good gossip and just plain fun," said Sandra Lee, celebrity chef. "I'm excited to be working with Prilosec OTC to help Bunco ladies across the country prepare for a great Bunco party - from easy recipes and decorations to great entertaining ideas. With just a little planning, anyone can throw a Bunco party that friends and family will be sure to enjoy."
Now, I get the whole connection between the sense of community (which is a great thing) and the idea of entertaining in your home, so Sandra's participation isn't that far off. But the idea of her teaming up with a HEARTBURN product is a bit more of a head scratcher. "My food gives you heartburn," is not the kind of message that I would want to send out, even subconsciously.
And another question: Why is Prilosec sponsoring a bunco tournament? When folks in a PR department have a sponsorship, they'll sometimes try to come up with a nice way to tie-in their product with the event. Sometimes they'll even commission some sort of study or survey as part of it. I had a professor in college who worked on a study that showed the self-esteem and confidence benefits to girls and young women who participated in organized sports, and the sponsor was one of the big shoe companies, so there was a logical connection. So, why is Prilosec involved?
"We found that twice as many frequent heartburn suffers play Bunco regularly compared to the general population," said Karen Klei, Brand Manager of Prilosec OTC.
Sorry to go off on a research methodology discussion, but I have to justify that college education somehow: Huh? Although the numbers might say that, what is the logical reasoning for that sort of relationship? Why are heartburn sufferers more likely to play bunco? This, folks, sounds quite a bit like what is called "data fishing." That is, of course, unless BUNCO CAUSES HEARTBURN!!!!!!!!!!!!
Labels: Sandra Lee
