Latest / Brand Storytelling with Fexingo: Narrative, Mission, and Stories That Sell / How a 50-Year-Old Ice Cream Banned Its Best Flavor
Transcript
- Lucas: In early 2023, Ben & Jerry’s announced they were retiring Cherry Garcia. Permanently. Their most popular flavor. The one that’s been on every scoop shop menu since 1987. Luna: Wait—they actually killed their best-selling flavor? For good? Lucas: For good—at least that’s what they told everyone. Massive news coverage, fans stockpiling pints, eBay listings hitting fifty bucks a tub. But here’s the twist: it wasn’t a real retirement. It was a storytelling campaign. Luna: Ah, so the scarcity was manufactured. I mean, obviously, but—what was the point? Lucas: The point was climate change. Ben & Jerry’s said Cherry Garcia was being “retired” because the cherries used in the flavor were threatened by warming temperatures. They framed it as a wake-up call—if we don’t act, we lose this flavor forever. Then, after a few months, they brought it back with a new name and a new mission. Luna: What did they rename it? Lucas: “Cherry Garcia: Now & Forever.” And they pledged that from that point on, a portion of every sale would go to climate advocacy groups. So the same product, but wrapped in a narrative that’s impossible to ignore. Luna: Okay, but isn’t this just greenwashing with extra steps? Like, Unilever owns them—it’s a massive corporation. Lucas: That’s the cynical read, and it’s fair. But Ben & Jerry’s has been doing this since the 90s. They have a Social Mission department that’s separate from marketing. The campaign was backed by actual policy work—they lobbied for climate legislation. So it’s not just a label swap. The question is whether the storytelling makes the mission more effective. Luna: Let’s talk about the mechanics. How did they pull this off without alienating their core fans? Lucas: They were transparent from the start. The retirement announcement included a video where the co-founders explained the reasoning. They didn’t pretend it was a supply chain issue. They said, ‘We’re doing this because we care about the planet.’ Then they created a landing page that tracked the campaign’s impact—how many signatures on a petition, how much money raised. It wasn’t cryptic. It was a story you could follow. Luna: And fans went along with it because they trusted the brand’s history. You can’t pull that move without decades of authentic mission work. Lucas: Exactly. If Coca-Cola tried this with Sprite, people would roll their eyes. But Ben & Jerry’s has built a reputation for putting values before profits—at least in perception. So when they said ‘we’re retiring Cherry Garcia for the climate,’ the audience bought in. Luna: What was the actual sales impact? Did it hurt short-term revenue? Lucas: The limited retirement actually spiked demand. People panic-bought. And when it came back as “Now & Forever,” sales were higher than before the stunt. So they effectively increased loyalty and revenue while advancing a policy goal. It’s a textbook case of mission-driven marketing creating value on both sides. Luna: I want to look at the narrative structure. They used a classic three-act arc: Problem—Threat—Resolution. The product itself became the protagonist. Lucas: Right. Act one: Cherry Garcia is beloved. Act two: climate change threatens it. Act three: we save it together. That’s why the campaign resonated—it’s a hero’s journey for a pint of ice cream. And the audience got to play the hero by buying the new version. Luna: You mentioned the landing page. Did they use any other channels to reinforce the story? Lucas: They leaned into owned media heavily—their email list, social accounts, and in-store signage. But the real engine was earned media. News outlets covered the retirement as if it were a real loss. That’s the power of a high-stakes narrative. If they had just said ‘we’re donating to climate charities,’ it’s forgettable. But by creating a temporary scarcity, they generated headlines. Luna: And the timing was smart. They announced it in January, which is a slow news month. No holiday distractions. Plus, it’s right after New Year’s resolutions—people are thinking about climate more. Lucas: Good point. They also tied it to a specific date: Earth Day. The retirement period ended on Earth Day 2023, when they launched the new flavor. That gave the story a deadline and a celebration moment. It’s the same technique used for movie premieres or product launches. Luna: Let’s step back. What’s the broader lesson for other brands? Can a small company pull off something similar? Lucas: The core principle is transferable: take a product that people love, create a temporary scarcity tied to a mission, and then bring it back with a higher purpose. But you need two things: genuine brand trust and a clear link between the product and the cause. If your product has nothing to do with the mission, it feels forced. Luna: Cherry Garcia is made with cherries. Climate change affects cherry crops. That’s a natural fit. If a shoe company tried this with a sneaker and said ‘we’re retiring it to save the oceans,’ people would smell the gimmick. Lucas: Exactly. The link has to be organic. Ben & Jerry’s also has the advantage of a co-founder story that’s deeply tied to activism. But even without that, a smaller brand could do a limited-edition “goodbye” run of a product and donate proceeds to a cause. The key is to be honest about why you’re doing it. Luna: What about the risk? If a brand does this clumsily, it could backfire. Consumers are pretty savvy to marketing stunts now. Lucas: Huge risk. If the retirement feels like a cash grab, or if the brand hasn’t been consistent on the mission, the backlash can be brutal. Remember when Kendall Jenner tried to sell Pepsi as a protest drink? That’s the opposite of this. Authenticity is fragile. Ben & Jerry’s had decades of credibility to draw on. Luna: So for most companies, the lesson isn’t ‘retire a product for a cause.’ It’s ‘build a story around your existing product that ties to a real mission, and let customers participate.’ Lucas: Yeah. That’s a much safer and still powerful approach. You don’t need to retire anything. You can just tell a better story. Luna: I think there’s also something to be said about the emotional journey they put customers through. You had people posting eulogies for a flavor. That’s engagement that no ad buy can replicate. Lucas: Absolutely. User-generated content was massive. People shared their last Cherry Garcia pints, made tribute videos, even held memorials. That’s brand loyalty on a visceral level. And Ben & Jerry’s didn’t have to pay for any of it. Luna: And when it came back, those same people became evangelists. ‘I helped save Cherry Garcia’ is a story they want to tell. Lucas: Exactly. That’s the holy grail of brand storytelling: when the customer becomes the protagonist in your narrative. They’re not just buying ice cream; they’re joining a movement. Luna: Let’s talk numbers. Did they publish any concrete results? Lucas: Ben & Jerry’s reported that the “Now & Forever” launch generated a 15 percent increase in Cherry Garcia sales compared to the previous year. And they raised over one million dollars for climate groups through the campaign. So it wasn’t just a PR stunt—it produced measurable impact. Luna: That’s a strong ROI. Especially when you factor in the earned media value. I remember seeing the story on every major outlet—CNN, the BBC, even The Onion did a parody. Lucas: Right. The Onion wrote a piece titled ‘Ben & Jerry’s Retires Cherry Garcia After Climate Change Makes It Too Expensive to Source Authentic Outrage.’ That’s when you know you’ve broken through pop culture. Luna: If these marketing conversations have sparked something you’ve actually used or a tactic you’ve tried at work, that’s exactly the kind of thing we hope for. And if you’d like to help keep this show ad-free and independent, you can find us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It’s a small gesture that goes a long way for us. Lucas: Yeah, listener support really does keep us going. We don’t run ads, so it’s just you and us having these conversations. Every bit helps. Luna: Alright, back to the story. One more thing I want to dig into: the role of the co-founders. Ben and Jerry themselves. They didn’t just lend their names—they appeared in the launch video. How important was that? Lucas: Hugely important. They’re the original brand storytellers. Seeing the actual founders talk about why they’re doing this adds a layer of credibility that a CEO or marketing VP can’t replicate. It’s like when you see a family-owned restaurant owner come out to your table. It personalizes the transaction. Luna: And they’ve been doing this since the 80s. Remember the “Peace Pops” and the “Rainforest Crunch”? They’ve always tied product to cause. Lucas: Exactly. This wasn’t a one-off. It’s part of a long arc. That’s why the audience trusts it. You can’t build that trust overnight. But if you’re a new brand, you can start small—donate a portion of sales to a cause you genuinely care about, and tell that story consistently. Luna: So the takeaway for this episode: the most powerful brand stories are the ones that make the customer a hero, tie the product to a real mission, and use scarcity to create urgency. But only if you’ve earned the right to tell that story. Lucas: Right. And Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia campaign is a master class in exactly that. It’s a story about ice cream that’s really a story about us—what we care about and what we’re willing to fight for. Luna: I’ll never look at a pint of Cherry Garcia the same way again. Lucas: And that’s the point. When a brand changes how you see a product, they’ve done their job.