We go to great lengths to get kids to eat healthy – bribing, threatening, sneaking cauliflower into the mac and cheese and, of course, lying. Kraft has your back and is encouraging you to feel less guilty about those little white lies when you pick up a packet of their new “Salad Frosting.”
Kraft’s head of marketing, Sergio Eleuterio, put it this way in a press release: “Innocent lies parents tell their kids help alleviate the pressures of everyday parenting, and, if it gets kids to eat their greens, so be it. Simple, innocent lies are not only part of parenthood, but a true tactic used by parents everywhere. Kraft Salad ‘frosting’ is one lie you won’t feel bad telling your kids.”
Before you turn your nose up at the disgusting name and any associations you have with frosting, be reassured that it’s just ranch dressing in an easy squeeze packet.
The product hasn’t hit shelves yet, but the creators hope that the frosting tube design with confetti on front will appeal to kids and trick them into thinking they are putting a sugary glaze over their broccoli and carrots.
To get parents on board, the company launched a Twitter campaign with the hashtag #LieLikeaParent. The campaign was part of a contest, and the results were pretty amusing.
Twitter personality and comedian James Breakwell is taking the credit for the Kraft campaign, referring to a tweet he posted in February saying his 6-year-old called ranch “salad frosting.” Whether the company acknowledges his contribution or not is yet to be seen, but he jumped on board with his own #LieLikeaParent tweets.
However, some parents don’t see the humor in the campaign. Twitter user @bgeuzzie writes, “Shame on you, @KraftHeinzCo. Seriously? #LieLikeaParent? Relationships are built on trust, and no, ‘innocent lies’ are not a part of parenthood. No lies are innocent.”
One parent also pointed out the irony of the nutrition facts of ranch dressing, saying it is more fitting to be considered an unhealthy treat like frosting.
“OK, I want to get behind a deviously creative execution, but when the @KraftBrand Ranch Dressing has slightly more calories than @Pillsbury Creamy Supreme Classic White Frosting, this doesn’t sound like a lie. It sounds like finally telling the truth,” writes Twitter user @enjoypatrick. An article by Karl Utermohlen for Investor Place confirms that the dressing is just as unhealthy as frosting with twice the amount of fat and over 200 more milligrams of sodium.
Is the product a fun new way to get kids to eat veggies, or are parents buying into the same lies they’re telling their kids? We’ll see if “Salad Frosting” helps boost the company’s sales when and if it hits store shelves.
Have you ever told your kids any white lies to get them to eat certain foods? Let us know in the comments.
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