From 1999 to 2008, the U.S. Mint released 50 state quarters. Everyone loved collecting these. Kids would rush to the bank every six weeks to exchange dollar bills for a new batch of quarters. They'd keep them in special folders, trade 'em, and shine 'em with silver polish. It was a frenzy on par with Beanie Babies, Tickle Me Elmo, and those creepy Furbies.
Some quarters where amazing, like Alaska, which featured an awesome Grizzly snatching a swimming salmon from a raging river. Or Wyoming, with its silhouette of a cowboy breaking down a wild, bucking colt. Both capture the spirit, splendor, and pride of their respective states.
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| Yee-haw!!! |
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| Gggrrrrrowwrr, bear claws. |
There were a few stinkers too. Like Wisconsin, playing up all its stereotypes with a giant cow's face and a cheese wheel stamped on its coinage. Might as well just throw Crestor pills on there too. And Oklahoma, with a sissy bird and flowers on it. There could have been so many better choices in such an American state - football, pioneers, Native American history, bison, or even the Broadway hit "Oklahoma!"
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| Moo. |
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| Rogers & Hammerstein are spinning in their grave. |
Sadly, the state quarter program ended when the U.S. Mint ran out of states. Sure, they started minting quarters with U.S. Territories on them, but it's not the same. No one wants to collect the Northern Mariana Islands. No one.
So when I read about Hershey's raising prices by 10% due in part to slumping sales estimates and the rising cost of cocoa, I had an epiphany*. Like a shot of nitrous oxide to the gas tank of its profit lines, candy rival Mars, Inc. could boost sales of M&Ms through the roof by... printing state images on their candies.
Stay with me here. M&Ms already offers consumers the ability to personalize their own bite sized confections with words, pictures, even NFL logos. They have the technology.
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| Your face here. |
Print the 50 states on M&Ms and market them as a limited edition collectors item. Make it nearly impossible to collect all 50 - kids and parents will be buying bags upon bags of M&Ms with no end in sight! And it gets better. Mars, Inc. could have a contest... if you collect the M&Ms for all 50 states, you win a free trip to the state of your choice (continental U.S. only). Only there would be one state that's nearly impossible to find, like Connecticut (most people couldn't find it on a map anyway).
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| Find Connecticut, win a prize. |
And of course the added bonus is that we would get a re-do on some of the lamest state quarters. Mars could drive traffic to the M&Ms website and allow consumers to vote on their favorite designs. Better yet, people would have to sign up with their e-mail addresses to vote... allowing Mars to bombard them with ads, coupons, and more!!! Hershey's wouldn't stand a chance in hell.
People love candy. People love collecting. People love winning things. With a contest like this, we're all winners.
*This idea actually came to my girlfriend in a sugar-induced stupor, but like any good American I stole it and capitalized on it.
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