Ashleigh Briscoe

Dr. Eaton
Marketing 300
February 7, 2017

Do you have a favorite television advertisement or print ad campaign? What about

that advertisement do you like? Do the colors pop off the glossy pages of the magazine,

do they use a famous spokesperson like Michael Jordan or Julia Roberts? Does the

advertisement employ a catchy jingle like the classic Oscar Mayer bologna commercials?

I’m sure you can probably envision many different commercials or print advertisements

that have made you laugh or inspired something in you or motivated you to purchase a

product. Want to know what my favorite advertisement is? Oddly enough the one that

comes to mind is almost ten years old. How can an advertisement that is almost ten years

old still be my favorite with some of the funniest commercials to come out of marketing

occurring every year around the Super Bowl here in the United States? The answer is

simple, by knowing its product and competitors, by employing a variety of marketing

techniques to segment the market based on a variety of demographic, psychographic, and

behavioral segments, and by accurately positioning its brand to better reach the target

audience with a compelling commercial.

By now I’m sure you’re dying to know what commercial could I possibly be thinking of.

Think back to October of 2007 when Orbit gum released “Dirty Mouth Test 37”, a hilariously

witty commercial promoting the release of their new Raspberry Mint flavored sugarless gum

(Gum, 2007). The script centers around a bunch of euphemisms for commonly known curse

words and derogatory sayings in an argument that ensues between a wife confronting her

husband and his mistress at his office about their affair. Such sayings like “Pickle you,
Ashleigh Briscoe
Dr. Eaton
Marketing 300
February 7, 2017

kumquat” and “Who are you calling a cootie queen, you lint licker” quickly caused the thirty-

one second run time advertisement to go viral all over television and the internet on such sites

as YouTube and knowyourmeme.com. Since being aired people have even recreated the

commercial and uploaded the videos to YouTube and have quoted lines from the commercial

in everyday conversation.

Why would the writers and marketers of this commercial use such colorful euphemisms

for an otherwise upsetting and life changing event and turn it into something so laughable

and memorable? The tagline that Orbit uses spoken by British spokeswoman Vanessa Branch

is, “Fabulous! New Orbit Raspberry Mint cleans another dirty mouth. For a good, clean

feeling, no matter what”. What this represents is the ability for Orbit’s sugarless gum to leave

your mouth with that just brushed clean feeling after chewing their product without the hassle

of actual brushing. The image of such a proper and well-spoken British woman clothed in all

white with a trendy scarf in contrast to the sleazy mistress, dense husband, and cantankerous

wife proves that no matter what foul situation you may find yourself in, Orbit gum can help

clean up your mouth and make it fresh.

Now that you have an image of the commercial in your mind, let’s examine how this ad

campaign was made successful by the company’s knowledge of its own brand. Orbit gum is a

brand found under the subsidiary Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company which is owned by parent

company Mars, Inc. Their product is a sugarless chewing gum using the sugar substitute

xylitol that promotes a fresh “just brushed” clean feeling for consumers. The flavors range
Ashleigh Briscoe
Dr. Eaton
Marketing 300
February 7, 2017

from traditional mint varieties like peppermint to fruit remixes such as strawberry, citrus, and

green apple found in individually wrapped packages of 14 pieces in cardboard boxes that can

come in split packs with colorful design packaging. They also offer three kids flavors in

strawberry and banana, grape, and bubblegum as well as a sugar free pellet gum available in

blister packs known as Orbit White that promotes stain removal from teeth and whitening

effects.

With its ability to freshen breath without the traditional brushing, its potential for

whitening and stain removal, and the fact that it is made without sugar allows Orbit to

compete not only in the gum product category but also in the categories of breath fresheners

like mints. Orbit also comes with the bonus of having the Seal of Acceptance from the

American Dental Association that states “the physical action of chewing Orbit Sugarfree

Gum for 20 minutes after eating stimulates saliva flow, which helps to prevent cavities by

reducing plaque acids and strengthening teeth” (American Dental Association, 2017).

Offering a variety of kid friendly flavors allows Orbit to compete against other, more sugary

gums on the market by offering a sugar free alternative that parents can support.

Within the chewing gum market, Orbit Sugarfree Gum competes directly with Trident

and Stride, both sugar free gums offered by Cadbury (International). On the breath freshening

market they compete against brands like Ice Breakers, owned by the Hershey Company, who

have not only developed hard mint candies but also soft chewy gum cubes (Breakers). Other

chewy mint offerings, like Mentos, are also competition on the market for Orbit. Orbit may
Ashleigh Briscoe
Dr. Eaton
Marketing 300
February 7, 2017

also face competition from other brands owned by Wrigley like Extra, Double Mint,

Freedent, Eclipse, and the new 5 gum (Wrigley). Wrigley also owns the mint brands Altoids

and Life Savers which can further cannibalize Orbit’s own market share.

Considering all the competition out on the market Orbit does a decent job maintaining

sales. Per Statista, “Orbit was ranked as second leading sugarless gum brand, based on

generated sales of about 424.3 million U.S. dollars” with Trident taking the lead at 485.5

U.S. dollars for the latest year ending April 17, 2016 (Statista, 2017). Comparatively other

competition like Ice Breakers Ice Cubes saw only 156.4 million U.S. dollars in sales for that

year but still rounded out the top five for the sugarless gum category. When stacked against

the regular gum market, the most popular brand chewed is Wrigley’s Double Mint which can

be looked at as an example of other brands in the company’s portfolio pulling away sales.

Now that we have reviewed the brand and its offerings as well as looked at its competitors

and sales, we can now examine how the market was segmented to drive sales.

The commercial “Dirty Mouth Test 37” segments the market demographically into age

groups ranging from mid to early twenties on into the early to mid-fifties. Evidence of this

can be seen in the perceived ages of the actors in the commercial where the husband and wife

both look to be anywhere from their thirties to forties and the mistress appears to be younger

possibly in her twenties. The advertisement appeals to all genders, but we can infer from the

commercial that the nationality targeted is American. This belief is supported by the

euphemisms used in the commercial. As Americans, we can easily piece together in our
Ashleigh Briscoe
Dr. Eaton
Marketing 300
February 7, 2017

heads that "You son of a biscuit eating bulldog” is a much nicer way of calling someone a

son of a b*tch. Other countries with different vocabularies may not understand the humor

behind the jokes in the commercial which would make it less effective in those

demographics. This commercial also targets anyone of a socioeconomic class with the

disposable income needed to purchase and chew gum and can be related back to the

commercial where the husband represents upper level middle class, the mistress represents

middle class skilled or unskilled laborers, and the wife can represent both the middle class or

working class unemployed depending on whether the audience identifies her as a housewife

or as working in a different environment than her husband.

The psychographic segmentation of the advertisement reaches out to individuals

concerned with having the image of good oral hygiene. Orbit offers individuals with a

lifestyle that doesn’t afford them additional time for more frequent teeth cleaning an

alternative that freshens breath, helps prevent cavities, and potentially remove stains from

teeth in a variety of fresh flavors in the form of sugarless chewing gum. With the ADA Seal

of Acceptance, Orbit appeals to a large consumer base concerned with good dental hygiene

and allows it to compete against other big name brands with similar products like Trident.

Chewing gum can also lessen stress that working-class individuals can endure on the job and

provides an indulging treat without the worries of sugar. The use of spokeswoman Vanessa

Branch also inspires an image for consumers to relate to, one that is bright, clean, and proper

in contrast to the “dirty” image of the fight acted out in the commercial.
Ashleigh Briscoe
Dr. Eaton
Marketing 300
February 7, 2017

The behavioral segmentation portion of the advertisement reaches out to the previously

mentioned age groups. Orbit through this advertisement targeted the behaviors of younger

consumers who would find the hilarity behind the scripted argument between the married

couple and the mistress with a slew of cleaned up insults and obscenities. Older individuals

can relate to the real-life situation of confronting a spouse’s affair either through personal

experience of from stories from friends or families. Orbit also looks to build brand loyalty by

offering different price points for their product ranging from small packs of gum at a cost of

$0.69 often found in gas stations where consumers are likely to stop and grab something

quick to larger value packs of three found in grocery stores. Orbit uses colorful packaging

with unique designs that appeal to more trendy and fashionable shoppers and offers split pack

designs for sharing with friends. By offering more flavors in comparison to other brands like

Trident, Orbit further promotes customer loyalty.

With its commercial “Dirty Mouth Test 37” being launched on television rather than in

newspapers or magazines, Orbit hoped to reach a large majority of people in its target

market. They aimed their new product, Raspberry Mint gum, at ages ranging from mid-

twenties to mid-fifties, predominantly American buyers of all genders. Orbit also targets the

market of consumers who are concerned with dental health and oral hygiene. By targeting a

wider market of buyers Orbit can increase their potential for sales in the product market and

compete better against brands like Trident that offer similar products with the same ADA

Seal of Acceptance.
Ashleigh Briscoe
Dr. Eaton
Marketing 300
February 7, 2017

Finally, we will look at Orbit’s brand positioning in the sugarless gum market. Through

their advertisement, they create a good clean image that consumers can aspire to have and

make themselves memorable through hilarious script writing. They offer their products in

many places like gas stations, grocery stores, and large shopping chains. Their product is

placed right at the checkout line for easy impulse grabbing or available in larger value packs

for those looking to stock up. Orbit offers colorful packaging and trendy designs to catch the

eye of consumers and offer their products in split packs, blister packs, and a new trend of

wrapper free containers that fit in cup holders in consumer’s vehicles. Orbit also increases

customer value by offering health benefits like reducing cavities, stain removal, breath

freshening, and sugarless products.

In conclusion, the 2007 launch of “Dirty Mouth Test 37” for new Orbit Raspberry Mint

gum is truly memorable and my all-time favorite commercial. The clever writing of the

euphemisms for curse words and lewd saying has me quoting those lines almost ten years

later in all types of situations. It’s no wonder why the commercial went viral after its launch,

it connected with the target market enough to inspire people to create their own versions of

the ad and land it on the knowyourmeme.com web page. Audiences of all ages can watch and

laugh along with the commercial and then continue to remember the name Orbit when they

see the brightly colored packages on supermarket shelves or in gas stations.

 Ashleigh Briscoe
Dr. Eaton
Marketing 300
February 7, 2017

Works Cited
American Dental Association. (2017). ADA Seal Product Report Orbit Sugarfree Gum.

Retrieved from American Dental Association: http://www.ada.org/en/science-

research/ada-seal-of-acceptance/ada-seal-products/product-category/product-

report?productid=5256&company=Wm.+Wrigley+Jr.+Company&category=Sugar%20Fr

ee%20Chewing%20Gum%20for%20Reducing%20Cavities

Breakers, I. (n.d.). Ice Breakers Ice Cubes Gum. Retrieved from Ice Breakers:

https://www.hersheys.com/icebreakers/en_us/products/ice-cubes.html

Gum, O. (2007, October). Dirty Mouth Test 37 Commercial. Retrieved from YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TxVJAkwbqA

International, M. (n.d.). Brand Family. Retrieved from Mondelez International:

http://www.mondelezinternational.com/brand-family

Statista. (2017). Sales of the leading 5 sugarless gum brands of the United States in 2016 (in

million U.S. dollars)* . Retrieved from Statista:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/262568/leading-us-sugarless-gum-brands-based-on-

sales/

Wrigley. (n.d.). U.S. Brands. Retrieved from Wrigley: http://www.wrigley.com/global/brands/us-

brands.aspx