Folgers Coffee, part of Procter and Gamble, is one of the largest coffee brands in America today. Founded in the 19th century in San Francisco, California by JA Folger, it took the United States by storm (the world’s largest coffee market). In 1963, Proctor and Gamble acquired the company.
There are eight types (called families) of Folgers in America today: coffee brews, coffee pods, instant coffees, gourmet selections, flavored coffee (hazelnut, French vanilla, chocolate silk, and cinnamon), Simply Smooth, Coffeehouse Series, and Classic Roast. In Canada, Folgers coffee is limited to Classic Roast and Mountain Roast.
Possibly, the most striking thing about the brand are the commercials it published. The well-known catchphrase “the best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup!” it resonated well with the public and boosted sales.
Other popular TV ad campaigns featured people sneaking into four-star restaurants and replacing the expensive coffee patrons are used to drinking with Folgers Crystals. Not surprisingly, no one knew that expensive coffee had been replaced by the cheaper instant version.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Folgers began to experiment with less traditional advertising, sponsoring NASCAR races. By sponsoring popular drivers, it was almost as if NASCAR itself was endorsing the brand, and the advertising campaign was quite successful.
In 2006, another non-traditional advertising campaign was launched through viral marketing. Created by the advertising agency Saatchi and Saatchi, the ads known as “happy mornings” were seen on YouTube and various weblogs. In the advertisements, cheerful and happy singers and dancers appear at dawn to wake people up and greet the day.
Dateline NBC ran a taste test of the most popular coffee brands, and in their experiment, Folgers Classic roast came in dead last.