Dinnertime can be difficult. Ore-Ida, America’s favourite fry brand, knew this better than most. Getting children to eat what’s in front of them can be a game of bribery, tactics and technique. So to simplify the struggle we turned this truth into a smarter, more socially acceptable way for parents to win at mealtime: Potato Pay. A new currency that turned Ore-Ida fries into bargaining chips.
The latest in parenting payment technology, simply pay your child the fries they love to eat, for bites of the foods they don’t. Easy and effective, Potato Pay puts the home frynances back in parents hands as they calculate and control the currency of any meal. While no parent may admit to blatantly bribing their child at the dinner table, the fresh new name made it seem slightly more acceptable, as we reframed the humble french fry as the best bargaining tool possible and positioned Ore-Ida as the brand empathetic to every parents nightly struggles.
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An online film introduced parents to this edible yet unethical approach. Launching on National French Fry Day, the film took a tongue-in-cheek approach to the taboo subject of bribery, painting it as perfectly acceptable as we encouraged parents to try Potato Pay for themselves. Pretty soon, our crispy currency was on everyone’s lips with over 10 million video views as the film spread across social.
At TryPotatoPay.com the ins and outs of how to make a Potato Payment were unveiled, with tools and tips on how to begin transacting with your very own child. Step-by-step instructions, FAQ’s and product demonstrations took our parody of payment technology to the next level as we as we introduced the world to Potato Pay with complete conviction.
The launch was supported by a TVC and ongoing social media content that celebrated the imperfections of parenting and this new technique to win back control. Weekly frynancial updates were created for social that broke down the market value of commonly complained about vegetables and ingredients.
Of course, bribery is a slippery slope. No two children are alike and the frynancial market between families can fluctuate. Knowing exactly what to give takes skill or better still, knowledge. So to give parents all the help we could, an easy to follow Mealtime Bribery Chart was assembled to aid parents in calculating the value of fries for food at home.
The chart was made readily available online as a downloadable tool for placement in your own home, because no parent wants to be cheated into coughing up more fries than necessary. Our conversion chart quickly became a hotly contested topic as parents discussed and debated the foods their kids struggled with most.
And the internet agreed. Our campaign was celebrated online for its refreshing honesty. Conversation centered on all the intricate and often funny ways in which real parents tried to get their own kids to eat dinner. And on National French Fry Day, we even gave parents nationwide the currency to bribe their own children - for free. Offering Potato Pay coupons for direct download to their digital wallets so they could redeem in-store for a free bag of Ore-Ida Golden Crinkles.
In a category that often oversimplifies or ignores the realities of real parenting, preferring to depict easily satisfied kids, we went directly at this tension so parents could relate to the world we presented. In the process, we re-introduced the Ore-Ida brand to a new wave of parents in a powerful and distinct way, becoming the #1 consumed frozen potato brand in 2018 and most importantly helping parents nationwide win back control. So parents, next time your kids won’t eat dinner, why not Potato Pay them to?