Facing soaring costs and a shrinking juice market, Welch's chief executive David J. Lukiewski began licking ads last winter. No, it wasn't a frustrated executive's bizarre boardroom behavior. Just a not-so-cheap marketing ploy to help give a jolt to the Concord company, which has struggled to keep up with flavored water and energy drinks.
The 139-year-old maker of grape juice spent more than $1 million to develop and place a lickable ad in the February 18 edition of People magazine, promoting the taste and nutritional value of Welch's grape juice. (Twice the antioxidant power of orange juice!) The full-page, two-sided ad included a sealed pouch containing a thin grape juice strip that dissolves on your tongue (no need to actually lick People's glossy pages). "It doesn't exactly replicate the taste, but it's pretty close," Lukiewski says. "In order to revitalize the brand, this is the kind of thing we need to do. It got attention in a Welch's kind of way."
JENN ABELSON
