Surprises

As a kid, I loved buying a Coke and looking to see the name of the city where the product was bottled. My friends and I played a game to see whose bottle was from the city farthest away. There was no prize other than just being named winner.

There were other fun prize-filled products I liked as a child. Cracker Jacks had that prize package that kept getting smaller and cheaper. Bazooka bubblegum had the comic strip inside the wrapper. I wasn't such a fan of the gum because the flavor went away too quickly. Maybe the company thought the comic made up for the lack of long-lasting flavor.

Today's product packaging has much more for a person to look at than the old Coke bottles did. There are nutrition labels, bright text, and colorful pictures. On lots of products, the company has enticed the purchaser by being motivational or funny or both.

The outside of the products don't intrigue me as much as some of the hidden messages on the inside. In the last week, I consumed several of these products. 

1.  Snapple, owned by Dr. Pepper, isn't my first choice for bottled tea, but it's ok. It must be someone's first choice because there are many varieties of Snapple on the grocery shelves. Under each lid of a Snapple bottle is a Real Fact. These facts are both funny and/or educational. You can check out all of the Real Facts on their website so you don't have to consume a large amount of tea to read them. Here's the link: Snapple Real Facts

2.  Sweet Leaf Tea, owned by Nestle, also has a message under each lid, but the "Granny-isms" are more motivational than factual. I actually like the taste of this tea better than all others I've tried. Their kind messages always speak the truth. Just check out the tops on the right.

3. Dove chocolates -- delicious and inspiring. I mean I get almost as good a feeling from the messages as I do from eating the chocolate. Almost. Maybe.

4. Taco Bell sauce packages -- These definitely make me chuckle. Who would have thought that putting funny messages on a sauce package could work? I guess the same people who thought of a talking chihuahua.

5.  Firecracker pop-sicles are my favorite! A blend of three different flavors on one stick was created by a genius. Along with all the refreshing goodness, on every stick is a riddle  whose answer is guaranteed to stump a child as well as many adults.

Product merchandisers have been using these messages, jokes, prizes, or riddles for a long time so the tactic must work. Does any of this make me buy the product over another one? No. Actually, I am old enough that I am not often swayed by advertising/marketing ploys. These package prizes/messages are just a few of the messages to make products fun and likable. 

Do you know of others?