Snow days, long a rite of passage for kids in colder climes, may be at risk of extinction this year as many schools transition to remote learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic—but not if Campbell Soup Co. has anything to say about it.
Today, the New Jersey-based food company announced the creation of an online pledge, SavetheSnowDay.com, which allows consumers—many of whom likely grew up tuning into their local radio or TV station on winter mornings to find out if their school was snowed in—to vow to preserve the beloved day-off tradition.
The effort from Leo Burnett amounts to a mareketing stunt, because the pledge seems like a symbolic gesture since it is school districts that of course have the power to mandate attendence in at-home schooling. But as stunts go, it's a creative one, putting Campbell's on the side of kids—not a bad place to be for the maker of winter-freindly meals like soup.
"Following a difficult year for so many, it is so important to find those moments of comfort and joy," says Linda Lee, chief marketing officer for meals and beverages at Campbell’s. “Even in the virtual world we find ourselves in need of a good ol’ snow day."
The first 3,000 people who sign the online pledge will receive a “snow day activity kit” filled with wintry items including mittens, a scarf and all the accessories needed to build a classic snowman.
The kits will be mailed to participants in January “during the height of snow season,” Campbell’s says.
In addition to its pledge, the company is complementing Save the Snow Day with other items such as a pro-snow day coloring sheet, a ZIP code-based map to track snowfall and a short film titled “Long Live Snow Days.”
Campbell’s’ campaign, despite encouraging kids to utilize their seasonal “day of play” to the fullest, may have come too late for some American kids: school districts in cities including Minneapolis, St. Louis and Pittsburgh have already moved to shelve the practice in favor of “distance learning days.”