17: Collaborate: NCAA of Ice cream flavors

In my office at work, I work with mostly guys and based on what a lot of these guys do at the Student Media Center, the subject of sports comes up a lot. This week though, with the NCAA Tournament starting soon, the topic of brackets came up. I know nothing about brackets. I made one last year and based it entirely off which mascot of the team I thought would win in a fight. I didn’t do well. Mike Rodriguez, one of my co-workers and an awesome guy, offered to help me navigate the world of brackets, but with ice cream flavors!

Here’s Mike holding our bracket!

First off, there aren’t enough flavors to fill a bracket, so I did my best filling it in. I then asked Mike the flavor options, two at a time and we discussed which one would win. Some won based on being a stronger flavor, some won because they were just better in our opinions. Favoritism played to the winner, Chocolate Chocolate Chip. (We’re both huge chocolate fans)

Even though indulgence and brackets don’t go together, I think sports can be an indulgent activity for some people. It can be a treat to watch your favorite team all day and just enjoy quality time with friends and family, or yelling at the screen. I don’t entirely understand sports minded people, but I’m trying!

16: No Directive: This is what it sounds like, when Dove Chocolates fall from the sky

From the blog, http://gracewalk.wordpress.com/2007/09/21/be-fearless-sweet-message-from-daddy/

Dove chocolates are the indulgence of the world of tiny chocolates. Don’t just get Hershey’s Kisses, treat yourself! Spend the extra buck and get some Dove chocolates!

Dove chocolates are also famous for their messages written inside the wrapper of every chocolate. Every time I have eaten Dove chocolates, I have never failed to read the message out loud to myself, or to those around me. Every chocolate gets it’s message read out loud. Even if it’s a repeat.

Since Dove chocolates are the indulgence of the chocolate world, and Häagen-Dazs is the indulgence of the ice cream world, why not take the idea of making the eater a little happier and treating them to a nice message when the finish their treat by printing on the bottom of the inside of the container. Then they’re happy because they’re full of a nice ice cream that they’re treating themselves with, and they’re happy because a container told them to ‘Laugh out loud today.’

I think this could be equvilant to the prize in the bottom of the container concept. Instead of a crappy toy whistle hidden in the ice cream, or a toy dinosaur, Häagen-Dazs would take the higher, more sophisticated road and simply give a nice message. I think it’s also a bit of an everyday indulgence, like waking up and saying “Yes! I am a gorgeous person and people love me!” It’s a simple way to make yourself happy, like an everyday indulgence. You don’t have to do that, but your day goes better when you do.

I wrote up a few phrases that I think go along with the Häagen-Dazs brand that can be printed inside the container on the bottom. I tried to make them encourage the person to indulge themselves further, with a different luxury, or at least make them smile and be a bit happier that day or the next day.

“Treat Yourself to a spa day, at home or away”

“Rock that new red lipstick today. You’re worth it”

“Say ‘I love you’ to someone special”

“You look amazing today”

“Did you get a haircut, because it looks amazing!”

“Treat yourself to a pedicure today”

“It’s okay, go ahead and open another container”

“Smile! Make a new friend today”

Take a long, hot bath. You earned it!”

I also found this website, where a person has kept a list of every Dove chocolate wrapper saying that she has ever gotten.

http://listography.com/rustedmelody/quotes/dove_chocolate_promise_messages

15: No directive: Make your ice cream work for you!

What if Häagen-Dazs did more than just ice cream? What if their ice cream did something for you?

It was brought up in class that Häagen-Dazs should combine with energy drinks, to give their ice cream an extra kick. Make it work for you, not just as an indulgent treat. I don’t think energy drinks go with Häagen-Dazs though. Energy drinks for for people that need to stay up and get work done or party hard, not hard working adults that want a little indulgence at the end of their day.

I think Neuro drinks are the indulgent drink of the “make your liquids work for you” realm. Like Häagen-Dazs, they don’t use artificial flavors or colors. Everything in there is natural and working to help you do something. My roommate often drinks Neuro Sleep to help him doze off. There is also Neuro Bliss as a stress reliever and Neuro Daily, as a daily immune system builder.

Note: Neuro-Gasm no longer exists, but is sold under the name Neuro Passion. You can probably guess what it does.

Welcome

What if these two companies or combined, or at least what if Häagen-Dazs stole the idea to make their ice cream work for their costumers.

I think a good way for them to do this would be to inject some of the same natural ingredients in Neuro Sleep into their ice cream. This way, all those hard working adults can come home, have dinner and some ice cream in bed, then fall asleep, feeling indulged and happy. Another way Häagen-Dazs can make their ice cream work for their customers is to make their coffee ice cream have the caffeine. This way, is can be an early morning indulgence to get the day started, or a night time treat for when more work needs to be done into the night.

14: No Directive: A competition for the ages

 

I decided that with this post with no directive, I would test out some different ice creams to see which one I preferred. Since HD is supposed to be indulgent and the best, you’d think that that one should be the top runner. I also decided to try Ben and Jerry’s because they are sold right next to the HD, in similar containers and cost about the same. We have also mentioned them quite often in class as being a competitor, despite their different market (stoned college kids).

I bought a tiny container of HD chocolate, since I love chocolate ice cream. I thought I’d give them a head start with my favorite ice cream flavor. I also bought a tiny container of Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia, which I had never tried. It seemed like an odd flavor, but I know it’s one of their top sellers, so it had to be at least okay.

After eating both side by side, I can honestly say that Ben and Jerry’s is better. Even the odd flavor was better than my favorite in HD. It was sweeter, more sugary, and tasted more like a dessert treat. HD was still good, but seemed to focus more on the smoothness. Both of these companies but a hard focus on their ingredients. HD looks for natural and simple ingredients, while B&J’s uses fair trade ingredients. This makes sense to me though because HD is more for adults with a refined sense of taste. Adults that don’t necessarily want to be assaulted with cookie dough bits and cartoon cows on every label. I am 21. I am not a real adult, which is evidenced by the fact that I ate 18 mini pizza bagels and a beer for dinner last night. My boyfriend sat on the floor and watched Pokemon while I tested these flavors. 21 year olds are not real adults and not the target audience for this delicious treat.