The Wall Street Journal reveals the lengths to which modern corporations go to make hot soup seem even homier:
Campbell began dissecting its condensed-soup marketing that summer, around when executives had started considering how to refresh the product line.
Researchers interviewed about 40 people at their homes and later in grocery stores. The team also clipped small video cameras to the 40 testers at eye level and had them later watch tape of themselves shopping for soup. Vests that the testers wore captured skin-moisture levels, heart rate, depth and pace of breathing, and posture. Sensors attached to the video monitor tracked eye movements and pupil width.
The researchers found that warmth and other positive attributes people associated with Campbell’s soup at home evaporated when they faced store shelves.
Typically, consumers show simultaneous blips in most of their biological metrics when they decide to buy something. These indicate the emotional reward they feel for making a choice and may help drive future purchases, Mr. Marci says.
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In interviews, participants also said the soup pictured on the can and shelf labels didn’t look warm. And the big spoon holding a sample of soup on each label provoked little emotional response.
Shoppers will begin seeing changes in the Campbell section of supermarkets this fall. Among them: Condensed-soup varieties will be sectioned into four, color-coded categories such as “taste sensations” in orange and “classic favorites” in light brown. The company’s logo will be smaller and moved lower so it’s not as prominent.
Bear in mind, the stuff in the cans hasn’t changed.