DN3 on ConAgra's Pirate Food

Run-don't-walk over to Daughter Number Three, to read yesterday's post about Pirate Food. A critique of corporate agribusiness, it began as a response to this hideous (or maybe just dopey) logo, the new mark for ConAgra Foods., Inc.

What the heck is that, I wondered? A pirate? Someone whose eye has been poked out with a spoon? I realized, on one level, it was meant to be a smiley face, but the one-eyed thing was really distracting -- what happened to the other eye? Or was it an asymmetrical cyclops?

DN3 reflects on what this logo suggests about a corporation that proudly devours smaller brands. A bland and tasteless pirate, it seems entirely clueless about current local food trends. With a new tagline, "Food you love," ConAgra Foods Inc. for the first time is overtly advertising its name with the brands it makes (make that "overtakes"). Hmmm. Yumm? Check out this sharp and savvy debunking of their brand strategy, from someone with years of experience in media and natural foods.

There's a photo of ConAgra products sitting on a shelf in a pantry somewhere...straight out of the 70s? I think I cleaned out that cupboard once: I can almost feel the sticky, smudgy dust on those boxes and on the lids of those jars. Oops – stale and outdated...have to pitch them!