Capturing attention with absurdity, curtesy of Salt & Straw.

You are what you direct your attention to.

Apparently, the ice cream company Salt & Straw loves directing their attention to terribly-sounding flavors.

I’m not writing this to dunk on them.

I’ve had their normal flavors before, and they do a decent job.

I’m writing this because the visceral feelings their flavors give off are a form of marketing.

And I adore it.

Look at these so-called ice cream flavors:

Chocolate Potato Salad.

Baked Brie & Fig Cheesecake.

Cinnamon & Honey Fried Chicken.

No one has ever eaten fried chicken and then uttered the words, “ I wish this was an ice cream flavor.”

But that’s neither here nor there.

They create flavors like these to simply stand out from the norm.

Because, beyond an ice cream store’s interior, packaging and branding, there’s hardly anything new when it come’s to ice cream.

So deviating from your typical vanillas and chocolates are a way to get one’s attention.

And what’s better way to get attention than by serving Chocolate Potato Salad.

Though getting attention and getting people to buy are two separate things.

This is probably how it all works out:

A person hears about the crazy flavors. They don’t believe it, visiting the website for proof. They’re in disbelief, thinking, ‘what other flavors do they have?’ They see that there’s other normal flavors that Salt & Straw offers. “let’s go and check them out,” they say, visiting a location. “May we sample the Chocolate Potato Salad?” “Hmm, yeah, it’s not good; I’ll just get the regular flavor.”

Incongruity is a way to capture one’s attention.

Once you have it, converting it into dollars is your next step.

— George