Anti-marketing

I love eggs. No, I mean I really love eggs. They are one of the most delicious things ever. Nothing has ever quelled my love of eggs. Not even when I was a kid and complained about my father eating tongue and his reply was "you think this is gross because it comes from a cow's mouth, but you eat eggs." Not even the time I "went vegetarian". I knew I would never be a vegan because I love the eggs too much.

But, Canada's egg producers have come up with a new marketing strategy that may just turn me off of eggs. Now, when I buy eggs, there is a little card on the carton that promotes this new strategy. They say it is "A new traceability standard for food safety & bird welfare." That sounds great. I'm all for food safety and bird welfare (despite what this story may lead you to believe). You can even win a $500 shopping spree! What's not to love about this new program?

The name.



EggsacTrace?! This is the single most disgusting food-related branding I have ever heard of. I understand that in this case, "eggsac" is supposed to be a play on "exact", but come on!

Dictionary.com defines Egg Sac as "The silken pouch in which many spiders deposit their eggs." mmmm.... sounds breakfast-y. Google Egg Sac and you will get a billion sites about spiders and their reproductive habits. The only mention of breakfast is in a video in which a hobo spider kills a small rat for breakfast.

Still with the unappetizing definitions: Medterms.com says that an egg sac is another term for a woman's ovary. I expect that "OvaryTrace" was a close second when they were deciding on names for this campaign.

Imagine if the beef farmers got together and set up a traceability standard and called it "bull sperm trace". Wouldn't that make you just crave a nice tenderloin steak smothered in rich, thick, creamy Bernaise sauce? mmmm....

I'm going to enter the contest for the $500 and if I win, I'm going to suggest that they keep the money and use it to hire someone to come up with a less disgusting name. Like "OvaryEasy".