9979: Stove Top’s Plymouth Crock.

In What’s Black About It? by Pepper Miller and Herb Kemp, the authors spotlighted a case study involving Stove Top. To target Black consumers, the brand tapped research showing the audience preferred using cornbread over loaf bread, and referred to the side dish as dressing versus stuffing (see excerpt above). This marketing insight came to mind while viewing the new Stove Top campaign by The Martin Agency—a White shop in Richmond, Virginia—featuring annoyed Pilgrims to position the product as being great for occasions beyond Thanksgiving. Can’t help but wonder how the characters and concept cross over to Black consumers. Or Latinos. Or Native Americans.

Maybe Stove Top will produce a targeted commercial featuring Malcolm X proclaiming, “We didn’t land on Plymouth Rock. The rock was landed on us.”