Wheat Thins nabs ad hater in latest ambush

When Wheat Thins went after people last summer who were talking smack about the brand on Twitter, there was understandable skepticism about whether the whole thing was a set-up. The ad, done by The Escape Pod, was the real deal, agency founder Vinny Warren insisted. That led to the inspiration for this next installment, a 30-second spot in which the Wheat Thins crew doorsteps Derek Tzeo, a Portland, Ore., dude who dared to question the authenticity of the first spot, calling it "uber-fake." He's left with a pallet of Wheat Thins that are, in fact, "uber-real." As recently departed Euro RSCG creative chief Stefan Postaer notes on his blog, the candid-camera bit isn't very new, but the melding of social media with broadcast spots is certainly a fertile area to explore. Over on YouTube, the top comment is from another doubter, with the next being from Derek himself insisting he's real.

Filed under Escape Pod, Food and drink, Morrissey, Wheat Thins
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Talk about Wheat Thins, and they'll find you

Watch what you say about brands. They've gotten the listening memo, and some are even taking action. Following in the harassing footsteps of Domino's, Wheat Thins is now going after tweeters. The Escape Pod created the video below, showing a Prize-Patrol-type van cruising the streets to find people who've tweeted about the brand. For this exercise, they're only seeking those who've said nice things, like Tabitha Hancock, who tweeted, "AAAHHHH Im outta wheat thins... Mi life is officially over!" That missive earned her a visit from the Crunch Patrol armed with a boatload of Wheat Thins. (Actually, Tabitha's story is more complicated than that. The Wheat Thins post was her very first tweet, which seems shady, and her page looks different in the video than online. But The Escape Pod explains all the discrepancies at length here.) Agency founder Vinny Warren also blogs that the shop found its victims with the help of their Facebook friends. His sensible warning: "Don't trust your loved ones!" Meanwhile, if Wheat Thins gets around to harassing the haters, they may come after us first.

Filed under Escape Pod, Food and drink, Morrissey, Twitter, Wheat Thins
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Humans attack delicious Wheat Thin clouds

Wheat Thins are tasty. So tasty that when you run across a giant swarm of them, you find yourself talking smack—promising that you will destroy them, that they don't have a chance, that they are to blame for being so tasty. Then, when the Wheat Thin cloud sacrifices one of its own for the greater good, it's fun to take a running start and really splay yourself out and catch that one in mid-air and chomp on it. So satisfying. Euro RSCG, which has done some Wheat Thins ads recently, denies doing these spots. But surely someone wants to take credit for them.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Filed under Food and drink, Nudd, Wheat Thins
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