Save the Snapple Lady
Nearly 25 years ago, as I was driving to work at Netscape in Mountain View, California, I was sitting in traffic and listening to the radio when a heavily New York-accented woman was on the radio show talking about how she had just lost her job as the Snapple spokeswoman. Wendy Kauffman, often called The Snapple Lady, was talking about the recent sale of Snapple Beverages to Quaker Oats, and they fired her because she was overweight. The new owners wanted to change the image of Snapple, so in their minds, Wendy had to go.
At the end of the interview, Wendy made a very bold statement. I remember her saying, “I will respond to all fans who send me an email,” and I remember thinking, this woman is nuts. So I jotted her email address down and wrote her as soon as I got to work.
Much to my shock, moments later, I received a response. It was Wendy, but I didn’t even know what to say as I was star-struck, so I said: “Save the Snapple Lady”! What happened next would change my life forever.
Together, we hatched a plan to create a website (savethesnapplelady.com) and an online petition to save her job as the Snapple Lady. That doesn’t seem as innovative today, but we’re talking early 1990s here. Sending emails had just gone mainstream back then, and there were no online petitions. Our idea might have been the first online petition and one which would eventually help Wendy get her job back with Snapple.
We launched a site that would be considered cheesy by today’s standards. However, complete with spinning globes and under-construction signs, our plan had started to come together. The website was a gateway to the petition, attracting much attention.
Remember browser buttons back in the 1990s? I designed browser buttons and banner ads, and the website was starting to attract much attention. I recall changing an old Guest Book script into a petition, and we began to collect signatures. Around the same time, ABCNews picked up the story, and things took off. Maybe just maybe, I made something that went viral in 1998!
Thousands of digital signatures later, Quaker Oats, the new owners of Snapple, took notice. I can’t stay for sure, but I believe the petition had substantial influence. They asked Wendy to return to Snapple and named a new flavor in honor (Wendy’s Tropical Inspiration).
Snapple flew me to New York City to participate in a parade in Wendy’s honor and star in a Snapple Commercial with Wendy. But the best part; is that I made a friend for life while essentially creating the runway for what would be a fantastic career in design! Wendy is an inspiration to me, both professionally and personally.
Past news reports:
Quaker Oats may bring back the Snapple Lady
Snapple Lady gets her job back
