Why Ben & Jerry’s Hubby Hubby is a Social Media Success

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Ben & Jerry’s, the Vermont ice cream maker has never failed to leverage on social networking tools to create presence.

Just yesterday, another strategic move saw it dubbing its iconic flavor, Chubby Hubby to Hubby Hubby. It was a partnership with Freedom to Marry to celebrate Vermont marriage liberty and raise awareness of the importance of marriage equality.

What’s good to note is that many of us didn’t receive this news through traditional media. We heard about it through the buzz of Twitter and Facebook (again).

Here are my thoughts on its social media success.

1. It is controversial

We love controversial stuff. Ben & Jerry’s Hubby Hubby has flagged its strong support for same-sex marriages in Vermont.

As long as you help spread the news, it doesn’t matter if you are for it or against it. Free buzz for Hubby Hubby is what it wants.

2. It is not status quo

Vermont is one of the few cities that allow same sex marriages. Using Hubby Hubby as an icon to mark the historic law change has created a strong association between its brand and this special day among its same-sex couple consumers.

Just imagine how ecstatic same-sex couples will get; not just in Vermont but across the globe. It is a victory for them.

3. It is something we all want to write about

This campaign spells controversy all over and many bloggers (like us) and publishers would want to cover the story. Mashable, the San Fransico Chronicles and Chicago Tribune are just some big names that have published this news. Their posts have a high retweet rate and can help drive Ben & Jerry’s into one of the top trending topics.

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Other Thoughts

The Hubby Hubby is only available in Vermont for the month of September and I see this step as a way to test the market reaction. Sure there are negative buzz created by people who are anti same sex relationships. But if the overall sales goes up, we would expect to see Hubby Hubby being introduced in other marriage liberated countries as well.