Juice company Snapple thought it would be fun to promote their new line of frozen treats by breaking the Guinness Book record for the world’s largest popsicle- A popsicle that would weigh in at 17.5 tons and measure 25 feet tall. It sounds like a fun, straightforward stunt. Unfortunately, Snapple underestimated the hot New York sun, which reduced the giant popsicle to a torrent of slushy kiwi-strawberry juice that sent onlookers running and forced authorities to close streets.
It makes sense that communications professionals should always be pessimists in the sense that one should always plan on "Murphy’s Law" coming true. In other words, if it can go bad, it will, and you’ve got to be prepared when it does. While it’s hard to have a back-up plan for a marketing stunt like this one, I’ve got to wonder- Would I have heard about Snapple’s new frozen treats if the giant popsicle hadn’t melted and caused so much trouble? Probably not. Maybe Snapple’s snafu worked out better for them than first appearances may have led me to believe. This will play in Snapple’s favor, I’m sure.
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