packaging as content

August 23, 2008

The Brand Dilution of Duff Beer

Duff Energy Drink is made by Boston America. Photo on left from Caffeine Guru; photo on right from Triston Pelton’s Flickr Photostream

In an earlier post, I looked at Five Formerly Fictional Products, but there were bound to be more than five. Duff Beer, Matt Groening’s fictional brand of beer for The Simpson’s cartoon series, is another example. Even though Groening decided not to license the Duff trademark for an actual beer—(since it might be construed as promoting beer to children)—the Duff logo has been licensed to a bunch of other products that are not beer and, in some cases, have very little to do with beer.

The Duff brand Energy drink (above), an over-sized Duff Beer can package of playing cards, the Duff Beer Talking Ice Bucket [see Talking Package], Duff Mints in miniature beer can containers [see Soda Candy], a Duff Beer coaster Set, Duff tee shirts, Duff Beer lounge pants, Duff boxer shorts, a Duff Beer tube top, a Duff bikini, a Duff Beer Bottle-Opener Hat, a Duff Beer freezer mug, a Duff Beer magnet, a Duff Beer dice game, the Rotating Duff Can Lamp With Changing Characters, a Duff Beer key-chain, Duff Beer salt and pepper shakers, Duff Beer alarm clocks, posters, stickers, etc.

Pretty much the definition of “brand dilution.” Too many line extensions that do not reflect your core strength may cause loyal customers to wonder what, if anything, does the Duff brand even stand for anymore?

The unlikely hero in this story of diluted brand equity—(trademark infringement and welfare of children, notwithstanding)—is Rodrigo Contreras, from Guadalajara, who in 2006, trademarked “Duff” in Mexico. (Apparently beating The Simpsons’ production company, Gracie Films to the punch.) Consequently an actual “Duff Beer” is available for sale in Mexico.   

(See pirated/genuine “Duff Beer,” after the jump…)

Left photo from cherribomb’s Flickr Photostream; middle photo from obodo’s Flickr Photostream; photo on right from marco™’s Flickr Photostream

An interesting analysis of Duff Beer’s fictional marketing on the Simpsons TV show says:

The writers effectively depict Duff as a media-crazed beer company. Duff advertises on TV and in society using similar techniques to America’s beer companies; they use political figures, athletes, humorous commercials, stuntmen, and the superhero-like Duff Man. These methods clearly appeal to the youth market, in which viewers with in the market are proved to be more susceptible to consistent drinking habits. Additionally, Duff puts out similar strings of products as Anheuser-Busch, Coors, and Miller, ranging from beer to light beers to ‘Alco Pop’ in attempts to present varied products in hopes to find one that children will find good-tasting.  The influence in entertainment and sports market also exerts influence over children. Through amusement parks and fairs, Duff, like Anheuser-Busch, is able to indirectly (though more blatant than the real-world counterpart) introduce children to the beer market in a fun, more innocent and attractive manner.

Jeffrey Katzin, November 21, 2002
Advertising of America's Beer Companies and the Duff Corporation

Of course, the whole trick of reverse product placement is that the marketing is pretty much taken care of in advance. However satirical the writers original intentions, once Duff Beer became a real product, the exaggerated marketing methods depicted in the Simpsons became real advertising. The fact that they are hilariously exaggerated probably only serves to make the brand all the more indelible.

Randy Ludacer
Beach Packaging Design

4 Responses to “The Brand Dilution of Duff Beer”

1. Warren says:

   September 22, 2008 at 3:25 pm

   Are we underestimating our children’s ability to open tricky packaging, if we trust child-resistant caps?
   Octopuses figure out how to open jars to get at food inside. Most children are more clever than octopuses.
2. Gsus says:

   September 24, 2008 at 5:24 am

   Hey! Very nice blog, yea.
   Im graphic designer from spain, and specialized in packaging.
   Its so good your blog to inspire whe comes the bad days.
   Congratulations, and visit me whe you like.
3. Jenn says:

   October 6, 2008 at 10:01 pm

   Thank you for posting this. Im doing a science project on different age groups being able to identify the difference between candy and medicine and this is helpful.
4. bella says:

   February 22, 2010 at 9:21 pm

   Wow this blog helped me alot i am so glad google helped me find this blog i am also doing a poject and need info like this i also added this in my acknowledgments for the science projects \
   thanks a bunch!!