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Tag: Ben & Jerry’s

  • Twitter Works to Make Advertisers Feel Safe

    Twitter Works to Make Advertisers Feel Safe

    Twitter is taking steps to ensure advertisers feel safe on its platform, a vital step for the company’s long-term growth.

    One of the biggest challenges social media companies face is balancing individuals’ right to express themselves with companies’ efforts to protect their brand. Facebook ran afoul of advertisers in June when the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) found many ads from high-profile companies placed alongside content that would be deemed racist and offensive. As a result, Coca-Cola, The Hershey Company, Levi Strauss & Co, Verizon, Mozilla, Upwork, REI, Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s, The North Face and Eddie Bauer were just a few of the companies that pulled their advertising from the platform.

    Twitter is working to prevent that kind of scenario, with a new focus on brand safety, according to Business Insider.

    “We want every brand to feel confident advertising on Twitter,” said Sarah Personette, Twitter VP of global client solutions, in an interview. “Brand safety is a critical component to that.”

    The company has committed to audits by the Media Rating Council. Certification by the MRC is considered the gold standard, providing some assurance the platform’s systems are operating without bias. Twitter is also planning to announce third-party partnerships in the coming weeks, aimed at promoting brand safety.

    At a time when Twitter is working to stay relevant amid the onslaught of newer platforms, and is trying to walk the moderation tightrope, this is a critical step for the company’s success.

  • High-Profile Companies Join Facebook Advertising Boycott

    High-Profile Companies Join Facebook Advertising Boycott

    Multiple high-profile companies have joined the ranks of those boycotting Facebook advertising over racist and violent content.

    Facebook has been under increasing pressure over what many perceive as a tolerance for racist and violent posts and groups, which Facebook says fall under free speech. In the wake of George Floyd’s death, and the renewed focus on equality, Facebook’s policy of non-interference isn’t flying with other companies.

    The movement comes following the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) calling out Facebook for tolerating posts and groups that promote racism and violence. A quick search by ADL researchers showed major companies’ ads side-by-side with content many would deem offensive.

    “Facebook has been claiming that it is effectively addressing hate on its platforms. ADL and others, however, have continued to expose egregious examples of online hate, misinformation and extremism across the company’s products, particularly on Facebook and Instagram,” reads the ADL’s open letter. “Whether or not these posts technically violate Facebook’s complicated guidelines around hate speech, as a result of the platform’s casual placement of ads, paid advertisements run a risk of being placed next to divisive (and sometimes blatantly hateful) content. Indeed, even a cursory investigation conducted by ADL’s analysts immediately surfaced examples of prominent brands’ advertising displayed on newsfeeds next to hateful and conspiratorial content. Although we have not spoken to these companies, we can assume that their intentions when buying advertising on Facebook did not include being displayed alongside such content.”

    As a result of the ADL’s open letter, company after company has pulled their advertising from Facebook and Instagram. Coca-Cola, The Hershey Company, Levi Strauss & Co, Verizon, Mozilla, Upwork, REI, Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s, The North Face and Eddie Bauer are just a few of the organizations that have joined the boycott.

    The lost revenue appears to be having an impact, as Facebook has started announcing changes to their policies in response. Whether these changes will go far enough remains to be seen.

  • Ben & Jerry’s Honors Ron Burgundy with New Scotchy Scotch Scotch Flavor

    Here’s something you may have missed on Twitter. Ben & Jerry’s just unveiled their newest ice cream flavor – and it’s an Anchorman tie-in.

    That doesn’t mean it’s bad or anything. In fact, this is awesome.

    Context:

    I’m pretty sure the butterscotch ice cream with butterscotch swirl will be a much bigger hit than cheap white wine sherbet would have been.

    A bunch of entertaining, primetime Dodge commercials? Now a new Ben & Jerry’s flavor? Ron Burgundy is everywhere these days, in preparation for Anchorman 2, which is set to premiere this December.

    Here it goes down. Down into my belly. Hopefully.

    Image via Ben & Jerry’s, Twitter

  • Ben & Jerry’s to go 100% Non-GMO Ingredients in 2013

    Ben & Jerry’s to go 100% Non-GMO Ingredients in 2013

    Ben & Jerry’s has always been a progressive company. In addition to, until recently, heavily limiting executive pay, and publicly supporting the gay marriage equality movement, the Burlington, Vermont ice cream company has a social mission statement that includes “initiating innovative way to improve the quality of life locally, nationally, and internationally. Now, Ben & Jerry’s has jumped on the non-GMO bandwagon.

    Ben & Jerry’s recently announced that it will source ingredients for all of its products from non-genetically modified sources by the end of 2013. The company currently sources 80% of its ingredients (by volume) in Canada and the U.S. from non-GMO sources. It claims that all of its products in Europe are already GMO-free.

    Ben & Jerry’s has stated that its move to non-GMO ingredients was made to support smaller, sustainable, farming operations. The company is also supporting the movement for mandatory labeling of GMO foods. From a recent company blog post:

    Now, we aren’t scientists, we make ice cream, but we do know there are questions about whether GMO technology is truly living up to its promise of making bigger and better food, or whether it’s just simply another way to further industrialize and consolidate our food and agriculture system. Because Ben & Jerry’s has a long history of supporting family owned farms, we’re concerned that increasing GMO crops comes at the expense of smaller farms, which we believe is a more sustainable kind of farming.

  • Ben & Jerry’s Create “30 Rock” Tribute Ice Cream

    A few years ago, it was still possible to be one of those people on the receiving end of an incredulous stare when confronted with the question, “You haven’t seen “30 Rock”?!” Now, however–seven seasons into the show–many are familiar with the escapades of Liz Lemon and her coworkers, and the show has garnered so many awards it’s near-impossible to think of a time when it will all come to an end. Even if you came into it in the middle of its run, you more than likely loved it and quoted it the next day at work.

    Unfortunately for fans, the end is indeed nigh. The show will unveil its finale on Thursday night, and for all those who lament its departure from the NBC lineup, there is a nice little consolation prize: a new flavor of Ben & Jerry’s, created especially for the show.

    The ice cream, which will be in Ben & Jerry’s stores throughout the month of February before heading to grocery stores, is getting a rare spring release in order to be available at the time of the finale. And while creators aren’t saying what the flavor is, it’s almost guaranteed to be a hit with fans of the show, who just might need a pint of it when they’re sitting on the couch in sweats, reliving their favorite moments on DVD.

  • Ben & Jerry’s Cannoli Ice Cream Limited Batch Released

    Ben & Jerry’s, the creators of popular ice cream concoctions such as Cherry Garcia and Americone Dream, announced this week that their newest limited batch creation will be Cannoli.

    The ice cream will be a mascarpone ice cream with fudge-covered cannoli pastry chunks and a mascarpone swirl. Mascarpone is an Italian cheese made from cream.

    Traditionally, cannoli is an Italian dessert that consists of fried pastry dough filled with a creamy cheese filling, usually containing ricotta.

    The new flavor will be available in the U.S. for a limited time, so make sure to stock up if you love cannoli. Ben & Jerry’s fans should be able to find the treat in stores that sell pints of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.

    This is not the first odd limited batch of ice cream the company has created. Back in 2000 the company released a Festivus ice cream to celebrate the holidays. The flavor contained brown sugar cinnamon ice cream, ginger bread cookies, and a ginger caramel swirl. Other limited batch flavors have included Ginger Snap, Lemon Meringue, Peanuts! Popcorn!, Southern Pecan Pie, and Chocolate Chocolate Cookie.

  • Ben & Jerry’s Using Tweets to Hand Out Sweets

    If you live in Los Angeles or Washington D.C. and have a sweet tooth, you are in luck. Ben & Jerry’s, makers of those ridiculous (and ridiculously good) combinations of ice cream flavors and toppings will be passing out free samples of their new products in those cities until May 11th. Ben & Jerry’s “Scoop Trucks” will be roaming around to businesses, non-profits, and various community events, passing out full scoops of the company’s new Greek frozen yogurt flavors. Even better, the trucks will take requests for samples on Twitter, driving out to requested locations.

    “Traditionally, when companies sample their product they stay at one spot, serve tiny little samples, and hope that consumers can find them,” said Jay Curley, Integrated Marketing Manager at Ben& Jerry’s. “This truck tour instills the Ben & Jerry’s values and reverses that way of thinking by asking our fans where they want us to go, then we deliver with full scoops of our newest flavors. It’s really a fantastic way to connect with our fans one-on-one and deliver an experience you can’t get anywhere else.”

    The Scoop Trucks will be carrying four flavors of Ben & Jerry’s new Greek yogurt:

    • Strawberry Shortcake
    • Raspberry Fudge Chunk
    • Banana Penut Butter
    • Blueberry Vanilla Grahm

    Twitter users in Los Angeles can follow the West coast truck @BenJerrysWest, and fans in Washington D.C. can tweet @BenJerrysTruck for their chance at a visit from the East coast scoop truck. The truck in Los Angeles will be moving on to San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle later this year. The East coast truck will eventually make it to Miami, New York City, and Boston.

  • Ben & Jerry’s Creates a New Ice Cream Flavor to Support Gay and Interracial Marriage

    In support of gay marriage in the U.K, Ben & Jerry’s launched a new ice cream flavor called Apple-y Ever After. The creamy concoction was developed after a gay rights organization drafted a bill to legalize weddings between same-sex couples in the U.K.

    Ben & Jerry’s Europe llaunched a letter-writing campaign to urge members of parliament to support gay marriage, and even created a Facebook app so social network users can marry their same-sex friends, “because everyone is equal and deserves to live Apple-y Ever After!”

    The apple pie ice cream is available in U.K. scoop shops; the dessert is loaded with pieces of apple and decadent chunks of pie crust.

    The carton is decorated with a cartoon of two androgynous people in tuxedos atop a wedding cake that has a rainbow stripe around the bottom. The cartoon also signifies interracial marriage.

    Ben & Jerry’s renamed “Chubby Hubby” to “Hubby Hubby” in support of gay marriage legislation in its home state, Vermont, in 2009. As you can see the Apple-y and Hubby designs look very similar.

    Sean Greenwood, a spokesman for Ben & Jerry’s U.S. operation said “Sticking up for civil rights by a progressive company like Ben & Jerry’s goes together like big chunks and swirls in ice cream.”

    While gay marriage is still a hot-button issue in the U.S. and U.K. frozen treat probably won’t create as much controversy as a flavor they debuted in Boston last month called Linsanity after Jeremy Lin’s winning streak. Lin is of Chinese and Taiwanese descent so the company thought it would be clever to put fortune cookies among the ingredients.

    (image)

    The company issued an apology to Jeremy Lin and replaced the fortune cookies with waffle cones.