Ben and Jerry are no strangers to the world of PR. They regularly harness the power of word of mouth to promote their products and they actively promote their good works through the media. The latest Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream flavour is particulalrly interesting and not just because it piggy backs the news story of the century.
The new ‘Yes Pecan’ flavour is a very obvious nod to the election slogan of the soon to be President Barack Obama. No one can fail to see the PR power of that idea. The name of the flavour is interesting because it appears to have come not from the creative hot houses on Madison Avenue or from a laid back group huddle at B&J HQ. Rather it was the idea of an Obama supporter which might never have come to light had the Senator not embraced the social web as part of his campaign.
According to a posting on MyBarackObama.com the idea appeared on a blog. “As many of you know, Ben and Jerry have endorsed Barack for President and are urging their fellow Vermonters to vote Barack on March 4th… Upon hearing the news, one of the commenters on our blog suggested an idea for a new Ben and Jerry’s ice cream flavor: “Yes, Pecan!”
Less than a year later Barack’s on his way to the Oval Office and the new ice cream is in the freezer cabinet.
PR and the Social Web 
the ice cream looks tasty :)
[…] scoops here. […]
Ben and Jerry’s, clever as always. I hope the ice cream’s as good as the idea. :p I hope they sell some soon where I live. :)