Girl Scouts USA Begins Viral Leveraging Of Iconic Cookie Sales

Posted by Dale Buss on January 29, 2010 04:26 PM

The theme of the Girl Scouts most recent campaign is “Every Cookie Has A Mission: To Help Girls Do Great Things.”

The campaign and accompanying viral YouTube video (above) focus on the underappreciated accomplishments – which are many – of the cookie-sales program. The video, however, eschews traditional images of Girl Scouts per se and instead delivers its message through compelling copy and graphic icons.

Consumers, in fact, do help society by purchasing cookies from local Girl Scouts encamped around card tables outside of supermarkets and at high-school sporting events. As cookie lovers salivate this time of year over the stacked boxes of Tagalongs, Thin Mints, and Samoas, they can feel good about everything their cookie purchases help the scouts accomplish.

Girl Scouts USA, the parent organization of the thousands of local girl-scout groups around the country, wants Americans to understand how the cookie proceeds are used to support worthy causes such as victims of floods, residents of homeless shelters, and US soldiers overseas. What begins as a box of cookies sold by a young woman goes to help human beings of all ages in the most dire of circumstances.

The juxtaposition between the innocent, all-American Girl Scouts and the ugly reality of human suffering may seem like a difficult connection to make, but it is there. Big Time. The cookie-focused campaign is also a precursor to an overall rebranding plan by the Girl Scouts, to be unveiled in the spring. It will focus on how scouting builds confidence and leadership skills in participating girls. Just as importantly, the cookie selling allows Girl Scouts to develop business skills and financial discipline.

And you just wanted a thin mint.

More about: Girl Scouts USA, Girl Scout Cookies, Tagalongs, Thin Mints, Samoas, Food

Mark says:

captivating ad, and is a great promotion for girls scouts on many levels - buying cookies, signing your daughters up to a great personal development experience, and giving back to the community. How could you say no to buying a cookie.

January 30, 2010 01:29 AM #

Desiree says:

I feel like this speaks to me because at the end it says, "And you just wanted a thin mint." I love thin mints but I always knew I was supporting a greater cause but this ad really captured what I needed to know where the money goes. I feel it hits the heart and it speaks to many diverse audiences.

February 1, 2010 10:10 AM #

jireah says:

I like the ad, but I do hope one of the Heath brothers helped with it, because it is exactly like their Girl Effect campaign. http://www.girleffect.org/

February 1, 2010 11:54 AM #

Agreen says:

I agree. Tone, treatment, everything; i is the Girl Effect video. To that effect, I think this message can be even more hard-hitting to the opportunities for girls and learning how to make a real difference in the world. Unless Girl Scouts believes their mission is more about hugging and less about leading.

February 27, 2010 03:32 PM #

Barb says:

I have purchased many boxes of GS cookies for years and years, but 3 years ago I became a vegan. I'm curious to know if you will soon be coming out with a NEW Vegan cookie? I believe there is a substantial market. Vegetarians and vegans are some of the most compassionate people I know, who do for others all the time. Let Vegans help YOU help all these causes by developing a NEW vegan cookie!

February 1, 2010 12:01 PM #

Tami says:

Nice ad, but the flaw is that I haven't seen a Girl Scout get the courage to ask me-face-to-face to buy cookies, it's become a business of solicitation by the parents of these girls. As wonderful as the vision and the mission are, it is masked by adult invovlement.
Even at the tables set up outside of the grocery store....Mom's let the girls manage the sales, if they aren't old enough, don't put them in front of the public and sell for them, or make change. Have the courage to believe in them, even as they struggle.

February 1, 2010 01:13 PM #

Lisa says:

Just a quick comment about the adult involvement - much of the training that comes from Girl Scouts USA discourages the girls from just going door-to-door like in the good ol' days. No excuse...but, b/c so many parents have allowed their children to be more involved in after school activities than ever before (running from here to there every day of the week), the parents have adopted the mentality that "it's just easier to buy the cookies myself than to go out with my daughter so she can sell them."

As a Girl Scout leader, I appreciate your comments about letting the girls do the work - all of it. Of course, at the various ages, they will need varying levels of guidance along the way.

February 4, 2010 06:58 AM #

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Let the girls manage the sales, if they aren't old enough, don't put them in front of the public and sell for them, or make change. Have the courage to believe in them, even as they struggle.

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April 17, 2010 05:20 AM #

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cookie lovers salivate this time of year over the stacked boxes of Tagalongs, Thin Mints, and Samoas, they can feel good about everything their cookie purchases help the scouts accomplish.

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