Cake Battle

I have chosen to compare the ads for a hostess Twinkie and an ad for various cakes at a local restaurant where I live called Rosine’s.  Both of these are directed at people who have a sweet tooth and want to eat dessert.  The most obvious difference between the two adds is that the Twinkie is much cheaper and more readily available and a Rosine’s cake is only available back in Monterey California.  

            The ad for the Twinkie is more geared toward people who are looking for a sweet snack, while the ad for a piece of Rosine’s cake is geared for someone who is planning on eating a meal followed by the cake as dessert.  Both ads lack price tags but it is easy to tell that one Twinkie will cost less than one slice of cake.  Especially because the box contains 10 Twinkies.  Therefore if one decides to buy a Twinkie there is no need to buy and prepare a good meal that can be followed by absurdly delicious slice of cake.  If you do buy a slice of cake from Rosine’s it is much better suited to be eaten as a dessert after a meal so that the meal as a whole can be as good as it can be. 

An advantage that the ad for a Rosine’s cake has is that it uses kiros, or timing.  In the caption of the Facebook add it says, “Desserts for today.”  Then one would look at the picture, 

and the first thought that comes to mind is that after today these cakes won’t be available.  The ad for the Twinkie doesn’t play into a limited timing at all.  Hostess has intentionally or not done the exact opposite.  While it doesn’t say it on the box, it is almost common knowledge that if a massive natural disaster happens, you can count on finding edible Twinkies to nourish yourself.  So for the person who is deciding what to buy, only taking into account availability, most people would choose the gourmet cake because of somewhat limited availability.

            Believe it or not, Hostess has an advantage over the gourmet cakes.  This advantage is that Twinkies are easier to eat.  A caption on the box says, “golden sponge cake with creamy filling.”  For those who are trying to eat a quick lunch or perhaps are eating a snack on the go this would probably win them over simply because it is much easier to eat.  Hostess plays at the idea that the frosting for the cake is on the inside instead of the outside.  This makes it easy to eat with your hands and not get frosting everywhere.  Looking back at the Rosine’s ad there is only one item that can be eaten with your hands and not get frosting everywhere.  That item is the partial image of the cookies at the bottom of the picture.  As a local and a friend of the owner I would pass up eating a slice of cake for a cookie because I know how good they are and that I can go back another time and get cake.  But for someone who isn’t certain, the images of cakes are overwhelming when compared to the image of a few cookies. On the go eating is played down by Rosine’s and Hostess plays directly at being able to eat it as a snack on the go.   

            The two ads also play at the difference between home cooked versus factory made.  The hostess Twinkies come is a box of ten.  Rosine’s cakes are made daily by hand and the selection is always different.  This is another difference that can tip the scales.  If a person wants to buy something that you can enjoy ten different times and have the same taste and texture then Twinkies will win.  But if a person wants to enjoy a slice of cake that is more or less unique but will probably last only one meal then a slice of Rosine’s cake will win. 

            Back at the central coast of California, where Rosine’s is located, there is always talk about preservatives in food and packaged goods and the benefits of eating organically.  Most people agree that when presented with the choice of processed food versus non-processed food the better one is the non-processed one.  This gives the Rosine’s ad an advantage.  There is no packaging other than the plates that the cake sits on.  The Twinkies come in a box.  

Without reading the ingredients list and seeing what is actually in the food, the cakes look like they contain much less preservatives and other chemicals the some people don’t care for. 

            Personally, I don’t think I have ever eaten a Twinkie.  Something that can never go bad isn’t all that appetizing for me.  When presented with the choice between a slice of cake or a Twinkie the cake trumps any and all appeal for the Hostess snack.