SparkBlog by The Hartman Group

Pop-Tart Pops Up in Times Square

Pop-Tart sushi? Count us in.

Kellogg Co.'s Pop-Tart destination, appropriately named Pop-Tart World, debuted Tuesday to fans in Times Square. The 43-year-old frosted treats join M&M World and the Hershey store as stand-alone food boutiques in the landmark neighborhood.

One may envision a Spears or a Cyrus performing their hits and reveling in paparazzi-fueled antics housed inside a space called Pop-Tart World, particularly in the past few years as gossip blogs have adopted the term to describe such infamous figures. But aside from perky brand ambassadors cheerfully explaining how to use The Varietizer (a sort of mix and match vending machine), the original toaster pastry is the star of the show at here.

Store attractions include a bakery featuring Pop-Tart inspired treats, loads of merchandise, the aforementioned Varietizer, interactive social media portals, and an hourly light show that simulates frosting. Let's pause to absorb the magnificence of a light installation that mimics the production process of the pastries, from frosting to sprinkling to wrapping in foil. After all, Pop Tarts originally got their name the Pop Art movement, a household buzz word thanks to the Brillo box & soup can antics of Andy Warhol.

We suspect Mr. Warhol would be proud, although he may have passed on the sushi.

(via The New York Times)

Social Media Marketing & The Forklift of Wheat Thins

A very important question was posed yesterday over at The Consumerist: what would you do with a forklift full of Wheat Thins? Regardless of your particular thoughts on the salty snack, a few Twitter users will definitely be diving into heaps of them this Forth of July.

Kraft is the latest brand to seek out their existing fans through social media and connect with them in real time. Recently, Kraft launched a campaign aimed at engaging Twitter faithfuls by surprising them with crates of treats. Tabitha Hancock (seen in the video below) recently posted to Twitter, "AAHHHH Im outta wheat thins … Mi life is officially over!" A few days later, Kraft's mobile Wheat Thins team arrived at her door with a palette of crackers in tow.

Even though we're not sure what we'd do with that many Wheat Thins (perhaps a trip to the food bank would be in order?) we are eager to see what kind of response Kraft's efforts will generate.

(via The Consumerist, New York Times)

The Weekly Six: Plastic Islands & Miracle Whip Musicals

A Hawaii-Sized Island Made of Plastic	Collections of Unexpected Things
Know Your Ampersand	Musical Miracle Whip
Banksy's Street Art Doc is Here	Infographic: Who's Happy?

Things We Like: Q Tonic, a different brand

The tonic revolution is in full force, with many bars choosing to rely only on their own hand-brewed tonics. We've had specialty gin for years, so why not interest in specialty tonics?

Q Tonic arrives as the first ultra luxe tonic in the marketplace, and we love it. Q Tonic tastes clean and crisp with a quick sharpness and a gently rounded sweetness that Gourmet Magazine describes as "amazing."

Cheers!

Weekly six: horse-drawn Hummers, glove mice and tramatizing appliances

Horse-drawn Hummer	From the Bad Products Archive
Tramatize your home	Bizarre wellness strategies
Glove mouse	Fed up with school lunches

Things We Like: Perricone M.D. = Supplement Rebranding (!)

What

• Dr. Perricone, a name familiar to many in the health and wellness community, recently freshened its product line
• Note the clean, understated look of a modern apothecary, a design cue that is bolstered by the iconic apothecary image
• We are also smitten with the decision to visually depict as many of the natural ingredients as possible

Aha

• Even in a visually flat category such as supplements, where very little has changed or evolved in the part 30 years, it just isn't that difficult to rewrite the rules from the bottom up
• Now many are left wondering how we could have ever settled for brown plastic bottles with lame wrappers for so long!?

Weekly six: ageless Happy Meals, skinny cities and candy cigarettes

Skinny cities	Ageless Happy Meals
Candy nostalgia	3-D printing in stone
Raw health snacks	100 crazy chip flavors

Things We Like: Root Fruit snack crisps

 
What

• Snack chips made from real food—parsnips, beets and potatoes—and flavored with on-trend ingredients
• How can you not want to crunch away on “almond potato & sea salt”?
• Innovative package choices drive freshness cues (i.e., see inside), while still allowing for striking packaging (which cues quality)

Aha

• Snacks made from real food, named after the food’s indigenous category (roots), flavored with trend-forward ingredients and cleverly packaged and presented—a clear winner.

Return of the butcher

Butchery skills began to recede in the 1960s, when beef and pork, already cut and boxed, started arriving at supermarkets. The neighborhood butcher, the one who could be relied upon to save the best cuts for preferred customers, began to evaporate.

There has been a resurgence of interest in the neighborhood butcher—the kind that offer customization from whole carcass beef and pork. With the renewed emphasis on the neighborhood butchers comes a whole new generation of "rock star" butchers. As The New York Times observes:   

With their swinging scabbards, muscled forearms and constant proximity to flesh, butchers have the raw, emotional appeal of an indie band. They turn death into life, in the form of a really good skirt steak.

Seattle's Bill the Butcher believes in supporting sustainable farming practices and working with local farmers and ranchers who raise beef, pork and poultry without hormones, steroids and genetically modified feed. He also offers open pastured organic and natural grass fed beef that has not been artificially and initially fattened on corn. This gentle and natural diet creates meet that is high in Omega-3 and 6 essential oils and is far healthier than traditional beef raised in a feedlot.

What does it mean? The new effect is a revived interest in offal—what many have termed the "nasty bits"—as these new butchers explore long-forgotten cuts of meat for curious ominvores and gastro pubs alike.

Weekly Six: Color charts and toilet roll arts

	Toilet paper roll art Time to get inspired by an object that does anything but... [via The Design Inspriation]
	Charting the course of the crayon industry "Crayola's Law": The number of colors will double every 28 years (colors grow at an average of 2.56% annually). [via Boing Boing]
	What should I eat? Food court flowchart Just can't decide...enough said. (They should make a wallet-size!) [via Top Cultured]
	Street sleeps Photographer, Adrian Storey, chronicles sleeping in Tokyo public spaces [via CNN Go]
	Jobs of 2030: Memory Augmentation Surgeon, Waste Data Handler, Narrowcaster A little science-fictiony, so you may want to hold off on running new business card for now. [via Fast Company]
	WIN Human Recorder - wireless, real-time health tracker HRS-I measures and records electrocardiographic signals, body surface temperature and overall body movements, all while wearing it under your shirt. [via Dvice]

Enjoy!