Just Not Together

When Lisa and I were watching television the other night, an advertisement caught our attention.

The tv spot touted a new beer that was combined with lemonade. The announcer said the lemonade-beer was the perfect refreshment for summer.

Now, I can’t think of anything more refreshing on a summer day than a glass of lemonade. And, on occasion, I would certainly enjoy a beer. Lemonade & beer…great things…just not together. 

Meanwhile, on the menu at Domino’s pizza, I saw a listing the other day for Memphis BBQ chicken pizza. Now, if you are a long-time reader of Coach Jeff’s Blog, you know I love Memphis style barbecue. Also, I enjoy grilled chicken. And I love pizza.

Q. Chicken. Pizza. Some of my favorites. Just not together.

Do you detect a pattern here?

Despite my best efforts to keep my tasty treats separate, it seems that we’re going through a ‘mix it up’ phase in our society. After seeing the aforementioned tv spot, I started considering the possible reasons.

• Maybe we’re just bored.
• Maybe we want to expand our horizons.
• Maybe marketers are trying to boost sales.

How often do you go through a drive through somewhere and a friendly voice greets you with “Hi welcome to (insert name). My name is (insert name). Would you like to try our new (insert name of new product they’re pushing)?”

My answer is usually, “No, I’d just like to have the Number One Combo.” Boring, I know. Call me a traditionalist. 

There are other examples of this ‘mix it up’ trend.

A couple years back, Starburst rolled out its ‘morph’ line of fruit chews. You pop one of them into your mouth and it starts off with one flavor and about half-way through the chewing, it ‘morphs’ into another. Strawberry becomes orange; Cherry turns to lime. There is a line now called ‘fruit slushies’ I think there was a similar pairing done with Skittles.

Whatever is driving these new horizons in taste sensations, it looks like the experiment is here to stay.  Enchaladas wrapped in burritos; hamburgers topped with bacon and barbecue. The morphs continue! I defer to the marketers!

But when they start trying to cross a potato with a tomato, I’ll draw the line. 

JG

Originally posted 8/6/2014