Top Two Ad Icons of 2005
Steve on The Creative Forum started an interesting discussion about popular ad icons. He referred to AdAge.com’s report that listed the Gecko and Juan Valdez as the two most popular ad icons of 2005.
Just like Steve, I was very surprised by the number two selection Juan Valdez. I knew who he was and remember the commercials but didn’t think it was that popular of an ad icon. When I think of ad icons these are some of the ones that come to my mind:
Aflac Duck
Ronald McDonald
Energizer Bunny
The Verizon Guy – “Can you hear me now?”
Scrubbing Bubbles
Tony the Tiger
M&Ms
Pilsbury Dough Boy
Now as you can see Juan Valdez and his donkey are not on my list. To my delight Jeff Fisher of Jeff Fisher Logomotives posted an explanation as to why he thought Juan Valdez was voted number two.
Jeff said, “It probably has a lot to do with markets in which the survey was conducted. In the past year Juan Valdez Cafes have opened in New York, Washington, DC and other major markets. There’s been a lot of press, and the accompanying marketing/promotion campaigns, about the openings – including Sprint doing major promotion about providing the Wi-Fi services for the shops. It looks like the Colombian coffee growers have been very successful in reviving the advertising memories of the “boomer” generation.”
He also linked to several articles about Juan Valdez and what it is that this ad icon actually stands for. These articles really gave me a new appreciation for Juan Valdez as an ad icon (Thanks Jeff!).
It was really interesting to find out that Juan Valdez isn’t just an ad icon but stands for a whole way of life for coffee growers in Columbia. Juan Valdez has come to represent Columbia coffee but more importantly it has come to represent the Columbia Coffee Federation (FNC).
According to www.jaunvaldez.com, the FNC “is entirely owned and controlled by Colombia’s coffee farmers, (cafeteros) of whom there are over 500, 000.”
The site goes on to say, “One important and direct result of the Federations’ work is that Columbia Coffee today sells at a significant price premium on the international coffee market, providing a higher standard of living for the cafeteros.”
Even though the coffee sells at a premium, this site states “At the Juan Valdez cafes, coffee prices are lower than at Starbucks. A small cup goes for $1.25, a small cappuccino for $2.25 and the fancier, frozen blends go for about $2.85.”
The major reason for the lower price is the middle man is cut out and most of the profits go directly back to the cafeteros.
It really amazes me how powerful of an ad icon he is and I have to wonder how many of the individuals that voted for this icon, actually know what he truly stands for. Hopefully the next time I am in the NYC or DC area, I will get a chance to stop by a Juan Valdez Café. I know if I had a choice between Starbucks and Juan Valdez, I would definitely pick the later due to the mere symbolism of what Juan Valdez stands for.
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