Panera Bread cleans up their act with a latest series of ads highlighting how their menu will soon become clear of artificial flavors, preservatives, sweeteners or colors from artificial sources. Via the Atlantic:
More consumers are eschewing fast food, “choosing to eat better, even if it costs more, based on the promise that they’ll feel better and be happy.” If you try to get to a local farmer’s market, or prefer a burrito bowl––hold the dairy––to a burger and fries, maybe Panera can get you eating in their stores or carrying out their food for family dinner.
The ad immediately reminded me of “Thrive,” an ad campaign that Kaiser Permanente, the health insurance company, launched in 2004. Their market research that suggested “people want to be as happy and healthy as they can be at every stage of life.” So they decided that while their competitors “stood for health care,” they would try for a different brand association: “Kaiser would stand for health.”
[…]
What does Panera stand for? Its ad seems like it doesn’t want to be pinned down. It throws out a bunch of words and images, only to tell us, “We’re not saying these are the rules we should all live by.” And no wonder: some rules seem contradictory. “Forks on the left, knives on the right” suggests adherence to traditional manners. But “manners” should “never” be minded suggests the opposite ethic.