As a former Kraft marketing employee I completely disagree with your view on what Kraft marketing employees believe:

That's what came out of her mouth when she responded to the lawsuit. She shared the company's deepest values and attitudes regarding the stuff they produce. What she acknowledged in that statement was that the folks at Kraft don't think of their products as "real" food but rather a bunch of cost-effective chemicals that can sometimes taste like the real thing. sort of.

One of the brands I worked on Jell-O gelatin. I am sure there are some people who view it a disgusting, full-of-chemicals fake food. However, I know that there are many, many people who love Jell-O gelatin and not because they are somehow tricked into thinking that it's a pure fruit essence. I was proud to market a real product that is beloved by generations of families.

The spokeswoman made a no-nonsense statement. If eating "real" guacamole, however she defines it, is important to a consumer then certainly she has the option of either making it herself or checking the ingredients to find out if it works for her.

Pointing out that consumers are smart enough and free to consider price, convenience, and ingredients and make food choices that work for them and their families is not, in my mind, an indication of the deeply cynical view you perceive Kraft employees to hold.

And to the point you reference from "blog" - I would agree that if you believe, as the author does, that what the company you work for does is utterly unethical you should quit. But if you believe that one can only work for a company where every statement from PR completely represents your every value and perspective or that PR represents the belief of every employee, then I would suspect that most everyone would need to quit their jobs today or reporters would need to get a quote from each of the 95,000 or so employees a company like Kraft has.

The fact that I eat processed foods and rarely feel guilty about it is not the point. The point is that Kraft doesn't think that consumers expect the highest quality of ingredients from them.

That to me is what she was saying. And, while Kraft makes a lot of processed foods, it is still a name consumers trust and this faux guacamole betrayed that trust.

While you can take me to task for saying Kraft employees are cynical-- from my experience working with several food companies as a marketing communications consultant I would say that there were often jokes around the table about the ingredients and what they could and couldn't say within legal limits.

No, I haven't worked with Kraft but I do believe that it is fair to say that many of the marketing executives I worked with were definitely cynical about the wholesomeness of their products.

They weren't cynical about their jobs. And, they did not believe that the products they were marketing were life-threatening.Maybe not the most nutritious but neither are cake, cookie and ice cream manufacturers.

I think what stunned people about her comment is that the very definition of guacamole is a "mashed avocado." So for her to say that people don't expect something labeled guacamole to be made from avocados does seem a bit outlandish.

Yes, we know Kraft produces processed foods that consist of chemicals that may or may not taste or look like the real thing. However, I think people were surprised because they actually think more of Kraft then Kraft apparently thinks of itself.

Consumers do trust Kraft and if Kraft calls a product guacamole dip then consumers should be outraged if the product has less than 2% avocado.

I do believe that calling it guacamole flavored dip is a much more honest representation of what they are selling. I'm not sure their sales will suffer. Consumers aren't stupid. They just don't want to be made to feel foolish. Buying something in the refrigerated section is imbued with higher quality. People feel duped.

As to the comment about values, I really do believe that you r values need to be aligned with the corporation you work for.

If you were marketing a product that you knew was mislabeled and gave people the wrong impression of what they were buying would you be comfortable marketing it?

Could you market cigarettes? Different people have different values. Some people would say absolutely not and others would say "why not?"

That's what makes life interesting. We all see things from a different lens.

elana
Blogher Contributing Editor,Business&CareersFunnyBusiness

As a consumer, transparency is important to me. If something is called guacamole, I expect it to consist primary of avacado. I'm glad they are changing the label to reflect the actual contents. I don't think sales will suffer. Many people who already purchase this product most likely enjoy it for what it is and wouldn't blink at the label change.

Beauty Dish: True Underground Adventures of an Avon Lady

All the labels anyway, because I 'don't trust anyone they're all out to get me'

*wink*

Seriously though, I do always read the labels, so this doesn't really bother me (I believe in being responsible for myself, not some kind of nanny state - all the info is there for me to make my own decision). The only kraft thing I buy is the Mac + Cheese and that's only once a month because I'm too lazy to make the real thing.

Emotional Neuroses