CoffeeFolgers Coffee - the History and Background of the Folgers Coffee Company
Part of Proctor and Gamble, Folgers Coffee is one of the biggest brands of coffee in America today. Founded in the 19th century in San Francisco, California by J.A. Folger, it took the United States (the largest coffee market in the world) by storm. In 1963, Proctor and Gamble acquired the company.
There are eight types (called families) of Folgers Coffee in America today: Cafe Coffees, Coffee Pods, Instant Coffees, Folgers 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.
Quite possibly the most catchy thing about the Folgers Coffee brand is the commercials it ran. The well known slogan "the best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup!" resonated well with audiences and boosted sales.
Other popular television ad campaigns featured people sneaking in to four-star restaurants and replacing the expensive coffee that customers are used to drinking with Folgers Crystals. Not surprisingly, nobody could ever tell that the expensive coffee had been replaced with the cheaper instant version.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Folgers started experimenting with less traditional advertising, sponsoring NASCAR racing. By sponsoring popular drivers, it was almost as though NASCAR itself was endorsing the brand, and the ad campaign was fairly successful.
In 2006, yet another untraditional ad campaign was launched through viral marketing. Created by the ad agency Saatchi and Saatchi, the ads known as Ó¬happy morningsÓ® were seen all over YouTube and various weblogs. In the ads, cheery and happy singers and dancers show up at sunrise to wake people up to greet the day.
Dateline NBC held a taste test of most popular brands of coffee, and in their experiment Folgers Classic roast scored last place.