Tam Good Blog: Tribute to Salty

When people think about commercials and product mascots and logos, a few stand out in their mind. In my childhood, Tony the Tiger was my favorite product mascot with his simple catchphrase “They’re GRRRRREAT!” I couldn’t pass the cereal aisle without begging my mom for a box of Frosted Flakes ™.

In 2009, Knorr™ advertised reduced salt Sidekicks™ featuring a little salt shaker named Salty. The commercial, featuring a sappy Michael Bolton song, endeared Salty to the public. The commercial was clever, funny and touching at the same time.

"Please cheer up, Salty. We still love you."

The ad campaign was so successful that the company released several clips featuring the misadventures of Salty, produced a limited edition of Salty and Pep shakers, which flew out of the warehouse and sales of Sidekicks™ increased by nearly 25%. They launched a subsequent campaign, “Salty is Missing” which offered a $25,000 prize.

While no stranger to Knorr™ products, (as chicken broth powder is a staple for Chinese dishes in our restaurant, and we always had our 5kg Knorr™ Chicken broth powder on hand for our stocks, soups and stir fry dishes, and Knorr™ onion soup mix is a flavor enhancer when caramelizing onions for French onion soup) Sidekicks was a relatively new product to me. I had to try the prepackaged noodles that tormented Salty so. They were actually pretty good! I mean, they are not handmade fresh pasta with a homemade sauce, but as far as pre-packaged “quick food” goes, they were tasty and not expensive at all. I wouldn’t suggest eating processed food everyday, Knorr™ Sidekicks™ do make nice quick side dishes for chicken, fish, pork chops or any other main you can think of.

So, here’s a little tribute I made today in my backyard to Knorr™ and the little salt shaker that could, Salty.