A talking tuna, a mermaid and a bee walk into a supermarket and … Sounds like the set-up for a joke, yes? It is, however, for real, as three long-time competitors whose brands are represented by those characters join forces to stimulate demand for the pantry staple they all sell.
The grocery mainstay is tuna, which is being celebrated in a campaign sponsored by the makers of StarKist (the chatty fish), Chicken of the Sea (the mermaid) and Bumble Bee (buzz, buzz). the campaign is under the aegis of the Tuna Council, a unit of the National Fisheries Institute.
The campaign, now under way, is also being supported by tuna processors in Thailand. It marks the first time that the leading tuna marketers have teamed up for marketing purposes, pitching their common product in a general way.
The campaign is in addition to the regular efforts by Bumble Bee, Chicken of the Sea and StarKist to market themselves separately.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: The New York Times.
