I’m having trouble deciding whether the latest Snacksphere collaboration is smart and slick – or stupid and thoughtless. Hershey’s has partnered with oral care brand Hismile on a promo product called… Peanut Butter Cup Toothpaste…
No, you can’t…
… Brush your teeth with chocolate, that is. Not if you want to keep your teeth for a lifetime. But now – for a limited time, apparently – you can brush with a clin-ically approved toothpaste that claims to taste just like Hershey’s iconic Peanut Butter Cups.
It’s another off-the-wall collab, design-ed to promote both the candy house and toothpaste maker.
But critics are asking, is it a wise move, especially with the kids watching?
The hype…
Now, the Hismile Instagram post declares, you can, “get the flavour of a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup… with every-thing your teeth actually need,”
“Our new Hismile x Reese’s Peanut But-ter Cup Flavoured Toothpaste is formu-lated to taste like the iconic chocolate + peanut butter combo you know and love, but built as a sugar-free toothpaste.” It also has flouride, and Hismile’s signature ‘cooling finish’.
Social media mayhem
A post on Reddit announcing the product triggered almost-exclusively negative comments…
“We all know it won’t taste like that,” a fence-sitter opined. “But will we try? Maaaaybeeeee…”
“[Hismile has] done multiple collaborations like this: Willy Wonka, Lucky Charms, gummy bears, etc. I remember as a kid Crest or Colgate had a line of flavors that were ‘weird’ but I loved: chocolate mint, orange mint, and vanilla…” one commenter recalled.
“It is extremely stupid because I can imagine kids just eating it,” another predicted.
“Exactly,” came a reply. “I feel like this is a lawsuit waiting to happen.”
“We really reached the point where brushing your teeth also needs to feel like dessert. What’s next, OREO mouthwash and pizza floss?” one Redditor asked.
“I love a Reese’s cup as much as the next person, but I usually brush my teeth to get that lingering flavour out of my mouth,” another admitted.
My take
One of the first thoughts I had when reading the promotional spiel for the Hismile x Hershey’s collab echoed the Redditor who predicted kids would just eat the stuff. And I also agreed with the reply, calling the product ‘a lawsuit waiting to happen’.
But I also have to agree with the raw (out-of-context) logic on which Hismile based its decision to develop the product in the first place. A company statement claims, a survey of online comments revealed fans wanted a toothpaste ‘that tasted like dessert’.
But the context easily shouts down Hismile’s rationalization for the product.
For now, the product is only available in Australia and New Zealand, via the Hismile webstore. With luck, it will be discontinued before it gets loose in the rest of the world!
~ Maggie J.