I found my Thrills...

I've been carrying a pack of gum in my coat pocket for about a month. I don't chew gum. I'm not a gum chewer. My jaws are muscular enough without the practice. I'll even buy the spray breath-freshener if I need to freshen my breath, and I never visit the toothpaste aisle except to get toothpaste and the occasional new brush.

But I had to buy this pack of gum, for nostalgia's sake. it's Thrills! It's the tasty purple gum that EVERYONE remembers from their childhood. Is it because of the fond memories? Is it the taste of childhood?

No. It's because they taste like soap. Anyone who's ever had the misfortune to stick one of these little purple babies into his or her mouth has known the pleasure of tasting gum that tastes like slightly scented soap.

And after all these years, the folks who make Thrills decided to capitalize on that reputation. Their marketing solution to flagging sales? HONEST ADVERTISING! Their new tagline: "It Still Tastes Like Soap!"



I don't know why this blows my mind so much. It's a classic psych ploy of taking something negative and shouting it out loud so that people think it's something positive. I know it's a big hit with the grade-school crowd, because that's where everyone I know got initiated to it.

---
"Here, want some gum?"

"Sure"
*CHEW*
"Sucker."
"Bleh. Tastes like soap."
(giggles)
(pause)
"Let's go get someone else to taste it..."

---

...On the other hand, you have to admit. It worked. There's a package of gum burning a hole in my pocket, and I bought it because it STILL tastes like soap.

Hey, if you want this pack of gum, send me your address or come find me and it's yours.

You know how to reach me... and my soapy gum...