Ben & Jerry's Bullying Campaign

Shaan tells a story about how Ben & Jerry's turned a threat from Pillsbury into a successful marketing campaign.

"Ben from Ben & Jerry's told this story about their early days. They started selling pints to corner stores and finally the business was working. Then one day, they stopped getting orders from a whole area. They talked to a store owner who said, 'Guys, I didn't want to tell you this, but I got word from big ice cream. Häagen-Dazs, owned by Pillsbury, sent us a letter saying I don't know who this Ben and Jerry's is, but you need to stop selling their stuff or we're pulling all Pillsbury products from your shelves.'

They had this value which was 'turn the disadvantage into an advantage.' So they created a campaign called 'What's the Doughboy Afraid Of?' They printed posters of a Ben & Jerry's pint with giant Pillsbury Doughboy hands about to strangle it. On every pint they sold, they wrote 'We're under attack - call this number to hear the story.' They recorded an answering machine message telling people what was happening and asking them to buy stickers and ice cream to show Pillsbury they wouldn't be bullied.

The New York Times took a picture of Jerry picketing alone outside Pillsbury's headquarters. They ran the story and Pillsbury had to back off because it looked terrible for their brand. A whole bunch of people discovered Ben & Jerry's who didn't know about it before, because this story was more interesting than just 'here's a cool ice cream brand started by two hippies in Vermont.' Their sales exploded and they became successful."