Each year, consumers wait with bated breath for fall flavor season. And nowhere is this more evident than at Starbucks, when the pumpkin spice latte makes its first appearance of the year (which is tomorrow, the earliest the coffee treat has ever debuted).
Not to be outdone by the Seattle caffeine behemoth, Dairy Queen is also introducing its Blizzard offerings for the season, which this year include the fun addition of a candle collection. Created by the brand’s agency Barkley in Kansas City, the five flavors are Harvest Berry, Heath Caramel Brownie, Snickerdoodle Cookie Dough, Snickers and, of course, Pumpkin Pie.
“As early as July, we started seeing DQ fans sending social posts asking for the return of the Pumpkin Pie-flavored Blizzard,” said Katy Hornaday, executive creative director at Barkley. “The new fall Blizzards as scented candles pairs the two best things about fall.”
The scents in the candles—Adweek was sent a sample set—are accurate, albeit paraffin-enhanced, representations of each Blizzard treat. That said, a lot is going on and, when all are opened, even without lighting, it evokes a feeling of the most intense Yankee Candle store anyone has ever experienced.
In fairness, there are plenty of people—including several I’m related to—who love the sweet smell of chocolate, caramel and cookie dough wafting through the house. So who are we to judge? It can’t be any worse than filling your abode with the scent of rich gravy or chicken like KFC has tried, or meat, as A1 attempted last Father’s Day. We know for a fact it’s definitely better than Burger King’s 2008 venture into cologne.
DQ and Barkley certainly deserve some credit in marking this time of the year with the stunt—and candles are a tried-and-true “go-to” in marketing these days. And it seems sweet-scented branded candles are a lot of people’s thing: These candles sold out quicker than a visit to a drive-thru for a Dilly Bar.
Better luck next year… or on the resale market.
CREDITS:
Dairy Queen
EVP, US Marketing: Maria Hokanson
VP, Marketing Communications: Whitney McChane
Integrated Communications & Public Relations Manager: Cassie D’Kae
Content & Social Media Marketing Manager: Jenell Lammers
Barkley
Chief Idea Officer: Tim Galles
Executive Creative Director: Katy Hornaday
Group Creative Director: Berk Wasserman
Creative Director: Tim McCracken
Associate Creative Director: Kyle Anthony
Copywriter: Colleen Coggins
Art Director: Ilana Marshall
VP, Brand Leader: Justin Sutton
Brand Supervisor: Julia Unverfehrt
Assistant Brand Manager: Madison Stanze
Executive Strategy Director: Chris Cardetti
Sr. Strategist: Molly Griffin
Social Director: Bailey Grover
Social Supervisor: Katy Zimmerman
Social Specialist: Macy Kaufman
Director, Senior Editor: Josh Dubois
UX/UI Developer: Scott Lewis
