The Birth of "Spuddy Buddy"
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A tie in promotion was proposed by Young & Rubicam San Francisco, the IPC's consumer ad agency, in 1993 to use the "Mr. Potato Head" icon in television advertising and have it be associated with Idaho. The Hasbro Company was initially excited and began to work with Y & R on this possibility. A "fee" needed to be established and soon their lawyers were working with our agency. A sum of $50-75,000 per year was thrown out for consideration from Hasbro and in negotiation for the smaller amount of $15,000 it appeared that talks were suddenly cut off for no reason. Little did the IPC know, but the Mr. Potato Head character, which had languished in the Hasbro portfolio of toys for quite some time, was about to become very popular again. The movie "Toy Story" with animated versions of several traditional child hood toys included "Mr. Potato Head" with
the voice of Don Rickles.
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IPC Executive Director, Meldon Anderson then asked the agency to develop our
own potato character. After all, in 1983 Idaho did have a western version
of a cartoon style potato with a bandana and often appearing in a cowboy
hat (images 1 and 2). The agency felt that there might be a potential liability
in starting up with Hasbro and then making this switch so elected to not
be involved. Mel decided to pursue an updated design of the Idaho potato
character, calling it "potato
buddy" (Image 3). Drawings were produced and modified; with the addition of
longer legs and tennis shoes and a permanent smile, along with a red sweater
with the "Grown in Idaho" seal. In 1994, no new TV spots were produced. But
the character came to life as a promotion prize in another co-op venture
with the new Chicago based ad agency Bozell had offered to the Commission.
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A large crop with above average yields had created lower prices. The assessments
the Commission receives from growers, shippers and processors of fresh, frozen
and dehydrated Idaho potatoes were up too. In 1997 the IPC asked the agency
for a break through idea to help move the crop. On the shelf was a tie-in
with another client, the American Dairy Council. They were in the midst of
a very popular campaign called "Got Milk" which was in TV, print and radio.
It was to be expanded to a Sunday newspaper insert with co-sponsors such
as Nabisco (Oreo cookies) and other manufactures participating with cents
off coupons. "Mashed
potatoes and milk"; the timing was just before the holidays so the "potato buddy" became
the premium that consumers could purchase at a reduced cost if they sent
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in money and the "Grown in Idaho" seal from any Idaho potato product such as
instant mashed potatoes or fresh 5 pound bags.(Image 4) The decision on
how many plush toy dolls to produce was accelerated in quantity by word back
from the production company in the Pacific Rim that it would take up to 3
months to make a large amount and they would be shipped by boat to the West
Coast, working their way by truck to Boise for distribution to customers.
Lots of buddies were ordered based on the ad agency's projection as to how
many newspaper coupons would be redeemed. Unfortunately most of the other
newspaper coupon offers were for "cents
off" and did not require the reader to come up with money to send away for a
gift.(Image 5) After the promotion was over less 10% of the Spuddy Buddy
premium order had been requested by consumers. While creating excitement,
the "potato
buddy" now was a liability. It languished in storage until the Commissioners
and staff came up with ways to make the potato buddy a part of the overall
IPC program.
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With no established identification to Idaho's advertising, marketing and
promotion programs the cute character could have disappeared. Slowly the
momentum began to pick up. An Idaho focused school promotion provided the
buddies for elementary schools throughout the state if classroom teachers used
them for coloring contests, discussions about Idaho agriculture and the
importance of Idaho potatoes. The schools were encouraged in school food
service to use the buddies as prizes for "clean plate" contests. Chairman Don
Dixon formally re-named the 'potato buddy" as "spud buddy" when interviewed on
the Today show in NYC by Willard Scott in October 1996. In retail, Spuddy
Buddies were offered to grocery chains as a display in the produce section to
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encourage ad placements for fresh Idaho potatoes. 1997 in food service, (Image 6)
a one piece drawing box and supplies of entry forms were produced. Restaurant
chains such as Charley's Steakery, Western Sizzlin' and others used the Spuddy
Buddy dolls as prizes, attracting more kids to their concepts. A Spuddy Buddy
coloring book (Picture 7) was developed and public relations releases allowed
newspaper readers to send away for their own copy. This is now available on-line
using the web and can be downloaded
here.
When an ad agency review ended up moving the business from Chicago
to EvansHardy+Young in Santa Barbara, CA, the "potato buddy" became a star
in new Commission television spots. Their first animated cartoon
versions included dancing potatoes and were a hit on TV with
excellent recall. The sound track of the 1960's hit "Nobody but me" was used
in one version to emphasize that only potatoes from Idaho can
be called Idaho potatoes (Image 8). Now there is a Giant Spuddy
Buddy, 36 inches tall. This guy is used for food show events
across the country attracting attendees to the produce display
and, of course, Idaho potatoes (Image 9).
