A Steaming Bowl of Yellow

One of the nine tactics in generating Surprise--well, if you can believe my upcoming book on the subject--is "Wear Virgin Contact Lenses," i.e. to have the ability to look at something familiar as if you've never seen it before.  This new perspective allows you to re-frame a product, a service, a problem in a new light, and breathe new life into things that may have gone moribund. 

The Virgin Contact Lens example I love using is the 100-calorie pack concept, launched by Kraft in 2004.  To quote myself:

"Given the growing concern about health issues and rampant obesity, the company was looking for a way to avoid the vilifying of this multi-billion-dollar slice of its pie.

"In an inspired vision, Kraft decided to shift focus away from the food itself, and onto the food’s caloric content.  The Pow! Moment resulted in a new form of packaging, the “100-Calorie Pack,” which delivered the win-win of minimizing guilt and maximizing margins. 

"Now consumers wouldn’t be buying snacks per se, they’d be buying a small portion of their daily calorie intake."

Now, in a culinary vision equally as inspired, Knorr, the maker of soups and side dishes (Surprise fact: it's the largest brand in the Unilever conglomerate) has plopped in its own Virgin Contact Lenses and is selling soups not as tastes or ingredients, but as colors.

Say goodbye to tomatoes, carrots or broccoli and say hello to Red, Green, Yellow and Orange, the new Knorr bowlfuls.  And you don't merely sip these molten hues, you (and I quote):

• Let the warmth of Orange fill your bowl with fun
• Enjoy the cheerful, optimistic side of Yellow
• Relax with the refreshing calming colour of Green
• Stimulate your senses and dial up your Red

To stimulate sales as well as senses, the company is supporting its rainbow effort via a downloadable "Eat in Color" cookbook (including before and after pictures of the bland and the vibrant). 

Who's the market for this?  Parents who may be able to sell kids on the taste of crayons easier than the taste of veggies?  Fashionistas looking to coordinate their appetizers with their wardrobes or decor?  No matter whom, kudos to Knorr for making the most artistic statement about soup since Andy Warhol.

And for faithfully adhering to Pow! Tactic #1