What’s in this article:
- For Father’s Day 2021, Carvel is reviving the original commercial for Fudgie the Whale and selling a limited edition run of Fudgie the Beer
Nostalgia always has a certain marketing appeal. Those of us of a certain age fondly remember brands like Carvel and how they were promoted to us.
Become the best CRMer you can:
CRM Hack: Monitoring the User’s Heartbeat
What Does It Mean to Treat a Customer’s Email With Respect?
To Lock or Not to Lock Customers (into CRM Journeys)
What the Efforts to Promote Responsible Gaming Look Like Form the Inside
Capitalizing on that for the upcoming celebration of Father’s Day, Carvel is bringing back a commercial focused on the Fudgie the Whale cake introduced back in 1977.
You can see it here:
Notice the phone number at the end of the commercial? You can call 1-833-FUDGIE1 to hear the voice of Tom Carvel telling dad jokes. (Possibly this brand was influenced by another brand’s move described in Comedy Cold: Ben & Jerry’s Serves up Punchline)
Nicolle DuBose, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Carvel hit on the essence of nostalgia marketing in explaining the move in the company’s press release: “By reviving some Carvel and Fudgie favorites this Father’s Day, we’re honoring all the moments cherished with dads throughout the years and the new memories yet to be made.”
Carvel is also reviving a product brought out for a limited run just a couple of years ago. In 2018, it last teamed up with Captain Lawrence Brewing to produce Fudgie the Beer.
That had a video of its own that, unfortunately, is still up unchanged since 2018:
Perhaps I’m just more partial to the Carvel ice cream commercials because I do remember them from my childhood. It’s a bit more difficult to market beer on the same principle, given the legal drinking age. But given how devastating 2020 was, the ability to turn the clock back to 2018 would likely be welcomed.