More reasons to like gum

I, for one, would enjoy my nightly dose of television a great deal more if gum-makers would air more commercials. 

Gum is one of those products where a :30 spot may actually matter.  I mean, a pack of gum costs what it costs.  (No way to battle on price.)  It all tastes about the same.  (Although they keep coming up with ridiculous flavors.  Pomegranate gum?  Blech.)  And it all performs the same basic function, although you can try to highlight different benefits to a small degree.  Like toothpaste, gum provides a perfect snapshot of why many product categories still need the added value a brand can infuse in order to differentiate themselves in the marketplace.

Plus, some of the ads are just plain entertaining. 

I like the Orbit ads with the cute British girl talking about how clean or dirty your mouth is.  ("Fabulous!")Because, hey, that's why I chew gum.  And if those scuzzy mud-wrestlers have twinkly smiles and fresh breath, then surely a piece of Orbit can help with my much-less-challenging oral hygiene.

I also like the Stride commercials where unsuspecting folks are forced in extreme ways to spit out their gum. Especially when the guy gets butted by the goat.  That's right up there with the best Superbowl ad this year in my book. 

I even like the over-engineered "5 Gum" ads, where they lower that person into a giant hair dryer, just to show you the goosebumps you'll get by chewing their minty flavor.  Now that's truly advertising the way I like it: a commercial that looks like it cost roughly the same amount of money as Ridley Scott's latest film... all to sell you a $1.29 product.  Woo hoo!

There are bad, boring gum ads.  And there are plenty of gum brands that don't even bother with television advertising.  And while a great ad will likely get me to try a new brand once... I tend to migrate back into familiar territory when grabbing a pack in the check-out aisle. 

Still, I'd like to salute the more creative chewing gum advertisers for providing more than just a useful, delicious, low-calorie product.  Thanks for going the extra mile and actually providing some entertaining advertising as well.