December 23, 2022 • 25 mins
Ah, the holidays! Because nothing says 'comfort and joy' like a marketing campaign, Anney and Lauren present another mini-episode chock full of the season’s strangest offerings.
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Speaker 1 (00:08):
Hello, and welcome to Savor Protection of I Heart Radio.
I'm Any Reads and I'm Lauren vogel Bum And today
we have another mini episode side Dish for You about
weird holiday brand marketing. Yeah, yeah, I've been I've been
mulling over what pun titles I will send for these,
(00:29):
But you know, we're like giving the gift of very
are very morbid fascination with brands and the things they
try every time of year, every time of year around
the holiday season, They're like, well, let's really throw her
all into it, and sometimes the results oftentimes I would say,
I just can't look away from I. I they take
(00:52):
me aback, they make me question things, and it's it's fascinating.
Like we said, which see are Part one. This is
the second was a two parter. Our Part one was
mostly focused on beverages. Um, I just I I was.
I was when I was telling you about some of
these things, I was brought to tears, like it's just
(01:14):
so funny interesting to me. And I did want to
clarify in this our part two because we didn't mention
it in Part one. We mentioned the tears a couple
of times. I don't think that we mentioned that they
were uh cry, laughing tears. They were I'm not going
to say that they were tears of joy necessarily, but
they were happy related tears. Yes, yeah, it was because
(01:37):
I was laughing so hard at what we teased in
that episode, which I guess I'll go ahead and ruin
it for you. But it was ranch on a Branch.
I mean, oh yeah, no, we we mentioned it there too, Yeah, yeah, yes,
And I couldn't stop laughing because it's ranch on a branch.
I don't know what to do with that information. Lord, No,
and I felt the same way you. You said it
(01:59):
to me, and I was like, oh, well, this is like,
what a time to be alive, What a time to
be alive. So, yeah, none of the things we're talking
about are currently sponsors. Yes, we have a whole dynamic
ad system, which I'm happy to explain if anyone wants details.
But currently we are not talking about them because they
(02:20):
are sponsors. We were talking about them because they made
a product they've done. Yeah. Yes, And this is really
just a sampling because since we put this together, which
was never intended to be a two parter, by the way,
I have found so many other items where I'm like, well,
well we can talk about that too, Like, this is
(02:42):
just the thing. There's so many interesting we didn't even
enter the world of candy. The world of candy, so
you know, if we miss any important ones, please let
us know. Yes, yes, but I suppose we should. We
should hop in. So yes, I guess we should hop
in with our I don't know, our top top couple
(03:04):
of food favorite holiday marketing irons. Yeah. Yeah, so let's
start with Spam figgy pudding, Spam figgy pudding, Yeah yeah,
because Spam released a limited edition flavor of Spam that
(03:25):
is figgy pudding. Yeah. Yeah, so you can see our
Spam episode. I know we've talked about figgy pudding before.
Oh yeah, quite a bit in our Fruitcake episode. Actually,
I went back and looked at that outline. Um and yes,
we talked pretty extensively about plum puddings and figgy puddings
(03:46):
in that one. It could probably be its whole own episode.
But yeah, yeah, definitely, um and yeah, we've done an
episode on Spam sure itself. So if you've listened to
that episode, you know that Spam has done some shall
we say, unique flavors in the past. No judgment, but
(04:07):
unique like pumpkin spice. Um. And yeah, so this year
they went with spam figgy pudding and actually Hormel, who's
the company behind spam, did research about this. Um. I
don't think it was very scientific, but their results where
they found that only US consumers actually knew what figging
(04:33):
what figgy pudding was, which I actually think that's higher
than I would have guessed. Yeah, because I know, I
mean we've I've literally written about it and I was like, wait,
what is that? Yeah, it's just not something I've heard
about it in a Christmas Carol. I don't know, Like
(04:53):
I I have a vague understanding of it, but it's
not in my uh for day life or even my
everyday holiday all right, sure, right, right right. I do
not believe I've ever consumed that product or or similar
related products like like, no Christmas puddings have crossed my
lips that I am personally remembering. So I have made
(05:16):
a for Simon pudding which I talked about right, Yeah,
which I really enjoyed. It was really nice. Um. I'm
a big believer in the fruitcake has been maligned in
a way that is not necessarily deserved. Well, okay, okay,
so so in case you are in that that generous
thirty one of Americans who isn't sure what this product is.
(05:38):
A figgy pudding is a type of boiled cake that
incorporates a lot of dried fruits and usually a lot
of brandy, and then you kind of make it ahead
and let it sit for a few weeks. Everything sort
of melds and becomes hypothetically delicious. Sometimes when you're serving
it you set it on fire. Um, I'd say that
(06:02):
that that figgy pudding is one of the more more
old fashioned kind of concepts within this, within this realm um,
and that a plum pudding or Christmas pudding is what
that kind of evolved into. No figs need to be
involved technically. But um, but if you're going to call
it a figgy pudding, I guess you might as well.
(06:22):
I mean, figgy pudding is a great name. We can
all agree on it. It really is. It really is
so spam to to. I guess this flavor profiles their
product with quote cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and clothes, fig
and orange flavors, and other popular winter flavor profiles. Okay,
(06:43):
I kind of no generally what they're talking about, but
I feel like they listed a lot of them right there. Yeah. Yeah,
I'm not sure what other ones there are, but but
right I'm into it. Yeah, good flavors all around. Yes,
but if you're still confused, brand continued quote, still asking
what is piggy pudding? The Spam brand has also created
a soon to be classic animation and song to reintroduce
(07:06):
consumers to this holiday treat. The brand has assembled all
the classic holiday characters, including Santa, Reindeer, Elves, a Jetti,
and of course, the Holiday Hawk to sing we Wish
you a Figgy Christmas, decked out on a stage in
side of a snow globe. But viewers will watch as
these icons struggle to explain figgy pudding but still just
can't get past its delicious flavor. I've watched a solid
(07:31):
two thirds of this animation and uh, I'm I can't
say that it X. I left with more questions than
I began with. Yeah, but maybe it all came together
in that last third. Maybe I did this to myself, um,
(07:55):
but I think I did this to myself either way.
But yeah, Uh. Any time that a brand really leans
into um having like like an like a mascot type
figure that is the animal whose meat product the brain
is selling. I'm always like, oh man, strong choice. Yeah,
(08:17):
yeah for sure. Yeah, this is a whole video you
can watch. They were really big about it. Um. I
will say. The reactions to eating it the product have
been mixed and also just a reminder, you know, if
you like it, you're like, good for you about it.
(08:38):
And some people did like it, but perhaps the kindest
one I read that I thought was pretty funny called
it kind of a surprise with an exclamation point. Okay,
yeah yeah. And then there's an NPR article about it,
and in that article they mentioned that it is shelf
staple in case of an apocalypse, and I can't stop
(08:58):
thinking about that. I can't stop thinking about like a
future generation being like so desperately hungry, and they're like
spam biggy pudding. Yeah, you know, it's sold out, like
everything we're talking about. It's sold out when it's going
for double the price on eBay last time I check,
just like a week ago, So who knows, it could
be even more by by now. But if anyone's tried it,
(09:19):
lets us know. Yes, yes, um, okay, here's a bit
of a shorter one. I just wanted to mention it
because it kind of caused a bit of a wave
last year. I remember they've done it again this year,
and we're talking about Christmas Dinner soup. Okay, Yeah, So
(09:39):
in Hines introduced their Christmas Dinner soup and it's sold
out online in three hours. Um. And it's basically like
all of the Western traditional Christmas meal and particularly the
UK Christmas meal from what I understand. In the soup,
it has stuffing balls, Brussels sprouts, turkey. Due to demand,
(10:01):
they made a bunch more this year, and they're offering
a vegan variety again. I the reviews I read about
it were very funny because most people seem to be like, yeah, yeah,
it's not bad salty, um. But just this whole idea
I find very interesting. This is what I do for
New Years though. I mean, essentially, I just put all
(10:23):
the New Year's ingredients for the traditional Southern meal and
a soup, but make a soup so so so so
you understand the vibe. Yeah, I understand the vibe. It's
like easier I am. I am fascinated by the idea
of stuffing balls as the dumpling format because I had
never I just never thought to do that, and like
(10:43):
as a you know, like like like rather enthusiastic enjoyer
of mats of balls, I'm like, why not stuffing balls?
That's great? I know, I mean, I'm actually intrigued by this.
I feel like, you know you've got you know what
you're getting when you buy like a canned soup that hauses.
I bet you could make kind of like home version
could be pretty especially with those like turkey leftovers and
(11:07):
like you always have like all those good turkey bones,
and it's like, what am I going to do with those?
And then yeah, this sounds I'm a little reticent to
put a brussel sprout in a soup, to be honest,
because the way that I enjoy the most is like
a good hard roast like that, like a really solid
crisp on him, and this is clearly not what you're
going to get. And also they have such bitterness that
(11:28):
I really enjoy that I don't want basically anywhere near soup. Right. Yeah,
But that being said, like like an alternate green I
could see being super tasty. Yeah, And I will say
I'm I'm looking, I'm on the lookout for Thanksgiving leftover
our Christmas left over holiday leftovers recipe because I just
(11:53):
leftovers make me anxious and I want to use them. Also, yes,
all right, this brings us finally at last, to Ranch
on a Branch. Yes, finally we have arrived. Finally. Oh,
it's such a journey we're about to go on. Uh.
(12:15):
And also Lauren and I had a brief discussion about this.
We we might have just a whole offshoot of these
mini bonus episodes. That's just what's going on with Ranch. Yeah. Ranch. Yeah,
we had like a tiny bit of an existential crisis,
like are we just becoming a Ranch show? Is that
what we're up to? And the answer is like, oh
(12:36):
so yeah, yeah. I mean we didn't even talk about
their like fifteen dollar couch that they sold anyway. Um,
today we were talking about Ranch on the Branch, which
is hidden valleys answer to Elf on a Shelf, which
is if you don't know. Very briefly, I never did
this as a kid, but I think it came along
after Yeah, I don't think existed when we were children,
(12:56):
so right, But basically it's like this ELF. I believe
it comes out December one and parents or guardians are
supposed to move it every day and it's like watching
the children and yeah, yeah, it comes with a little
story book and the concept is that it you know,
it sees you when you're sleeping, it knows when you're awake.
(13:18):
Um uh, and it's telling Santa whether you've been bad
or good, so you know, be good. But but also
like like parents can get in on the fun of
like creating little mischievous tableau for this elf to be
a part of. Um I think it's a creepy police
state situation. But um uh. But if but if you're again,
(13:41):
if you're into it, I wish you joy. Like if
if this brings you joy, I want you to be
into it, go go for it. Yeah, well I do
get a I get a chuckle when I hear parents
I feel bad. But it also kind of makes me
chuckle when they're like this elf on the schelf, I
forget to move it that they have to like make up.
I'm excuse. It just sounds like a stressor to me.
(14:02):
But some people really like it. But I've also heard
the kind of the judgment of like seeing parents do
really well with it on Instagram. Really like you're not
you're doing just by you are you are? Oh? My goodness. Okay. So,
ranch on a Branch is their ranch Hit Valley Ranch's
(14:23):
answer to this um. So. It comes with a plushy
named Ranchy, which is an anthropomorphic ranch bottle. It has
velcro hands, um and quote loves Shenanigans. It comes with
a storybook that details how you can help Ranchy become
(14:44):
a real bottle of Hidden Valley Ranch. And it also
comes with a mashing blanket. That's that's nice. Yeah. Uh.
Here is the press release. It's time for your new
holiday tradition, ranch on a Branch. The limited edition collection
features Ranchy and his accompanying printed storybook. Inspired by ranch
(15:05):
on a Branch, a Hidden Value Ranch is donating thirty
dollars to Feeding America to provide three thousand meals two
people in need this holiday season and beyond. And then
they went on further. Sparked by the magic of the holidays,
a ranch on a Branch was created to remind everyone
to spread joy throughout the season. Those who purchased the
collectible are asked to help Ranchy become a real bottle
of Hidden Value Ranch by moving them to a new
(15:28):
spot each day. As a reminder to spread joy to
the people and animals in their life, all right, and
it goes. I mean, this is a whole We could
do a whole back story on Ranchy because according to
the company, you can activate him through acts of kindness,
like playing frisbee with the dog, which was a real
example of the game. That's a good thing to do. Yes,
(15:52):
And I also got kind of going back to your point,
Lauren had a moment of like, if we want to
examine the mindset of a living and moving bottle of
Ranch that wants to become an inanimate object, an inanimate
bottle of Ranch to be eaten, that's a different podcast.
(16:12):
I mean we talk about existential crisis, right. I think
that's one for like stuff to blow your mind that
I think, like Robert and Joe need to look into
that one that is beyond my scout. We should send
them a note note. Oh my goodness, I'm trying to
envision Ranch on a branch. It's like, is that a
(16:35):
thing children would like or is that for adults who
like Ranch? I don't know, maybe it's both. I mean,
I mean kids are fans of Ranch too. Yeah, yeah,
let us know, Yeah, I do I do wonder sometimes
what like the demographic for some of these things are, right,
(16:59):
and and yeah, yeah you know who who knows? Uh? I.
Anytime Hidden Valley Ranch does something wacky and comes out
with something that's that's marked with a Hidden Valley Ranch
lover stamp, right, I'm like, good, good for you. I
still want to do that horror story. Me and Ben
Bowen talked about it. Who is this HVR value lover? Um?
(17:27):
You can see our first short we did, uh for
more information about that. But yes, this sold out immediately
immediately um. And it's also not the first time they
ventured into this holiday product arena. Uh. In one, they
released ranch dog UM. From their press statement, it quote
(17:53):
marries the creamy, slightly sweet elements of eggnog with the savory, cool,
and herby flavors of ranch. Okay, all right, so I
I like, like I heard I read this word ranch nog,
and my whole brain just just geared down, just very quickly.
It made that like one kind of noise, you know.
(18:14):
Uh So I had to look into it. And what
they released here was this limited edition kit that contained
little packets of of of ranch mixed powder um, some
special glassware with that hvr LVR marked on it um
and the recipe for this drink um, which was not
reported on until the Today Show later released the recipe.
(18:37):
As far as I can tell from the timeline, to
be fair, I did not look deeply into it um.
But okay, so um, so basic recipe you're looking at
um equal parts mescal and maple syrup than some heavy
cream and egg white ginger juice, a little bit of
ranch dressing mix, and garnishes of rosemary, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Okay,
(18:59):
So it's like a nice frothy cocktail with these kind
of like like warm savory herbal notes and then like
some some of that holiday spice flavoring. And actually it
doesn't sound bad. Yeah. It's one of those things where
I'm like, I'm having a little trouble envisioning it, but
(19:23):
I do think it could work. I think it could work. Um.
And so listeners, if you tried, if you tried ranch knock, yeah,
you know, I'm I'm I'm willing to make this. I'm
willing to make this in my own home and tell
y'all how But I it's also the kind of thing
that I'm looking at and I'm going like, do you
(19:45):
really need to add the ranch? Is that really would this?
Would this be in fact better without the ranch? Yeah? Yeah,
journalistic integrity word depending now. Um. Speaking of a final note,
(20:06):
I also found this thing listeners called mayo noog um
uh huh, which apparently the company Hellman's suggest you're supposed
to swap out the eggs and eggnog for mayo mayoog.
Yeah yeah um. This one produced a more visceral nope
(20:31):
in me. Um, I have to admit um. But then
the more that I started thinking about it, the more
I'm like, well, like mayo is really just like basically
emulsified eggs. It's like pre emulsified eggs. So I mean
there are other seasonings in there usually um, but most
(20:51):
of the time they're not supposed to be very strong
and so like, so like I could see it working
like it might actually be like a really aren't way
to like save a step mm hmm. Yeah, I have
I agree with you. I actually agree with you. Everyone
knows my opinions on me is, but I do agree. Um.
(21:14):
I'm the mixing part. I'm a little baffle by just
consistency and flavorings. But again, if this is something you
like and earnto, I'm all for it. And and if
you've tried it again, you gotta let us know. You
really deeply need to let us know on on on
(21:36):
that one. Yes, uh yeah, no, I oh gosh, sorry,
is one where the video aspect would be very funny.
It would be I think I think we need to
get the old snack stuff team back together. Um, if
y'all never witnessed those, that was Annie filming me and
(21:58):
Ben Bollen in the kitchen of our office, bothering everyone deeply. Um,
it's Ben and I ate snacks. Um. Some of them
were um, quite unusual to our personal palates. And uh yeah,
some of my friends still still like gleefully show new
(22:20):
people the one where we ate that heck and death
chip um, super spicy. It came in a coffin listeners,
like a mini coffin, not a full sized coffin. Not
a full sized coffin. Yea, yeah, what an experience. Well,
(22:41):
just let us know we need you, We need you, listeners,
anything that we missed, any experience with any of this stuff. Yeah,
any of your own homemade concoctions that might make people
go who yes, um, And speaking of our lovely listener. Um,
(23:02):
we got some extremely exciting physical listener mail recently. Um
uh listener Aaron sent us some custom D and D
dice that have old, tiny pastries inside them. Yes, they
are so so cute. They are beautiful, They're wonderfully done.
(23:24):
If you want to see pictures of them. Uh. Aaron
tagged us on Instagram. You can find Aaron um at
slide into my d M S rpg or at the
website slide into my d M S rpg dot com,
also Patreon dot com, Patreon dot com slash slide into
my d M S rpg. It's really beautiful work. It
is so cute. I love them. I can't wait to
(23:46):
use them pastries inside everybody. Oh, it's so cool. It's
so cool. All your listeners are this right, I y'all,
y'all do so good. I I can't wait until we
get to play D and D again. And it's like
a very important role, some very serious situations. I'm like
(24:06):
like life or death, like you're about term the whole
party and like you out the pastry dice. Yeah, yes,
and it's like everybody's watching. Is this like beautiful purple
sheen kind of dice with a cake in the middle,
goes up, comes down, and then it is hopefully a twenty,
but it could be one you never know that has
(24:31):
betrayed me again. Why I think Aaron's dice is gonna
have a lot of good luck for us. That's That's
what I'm going to choose to believe, although we're on
opposing side, so it's kind of interesting. Yeah, I'm hoping
every time. Sorry, sorry, yeah, we'll see, Um, well we will.
(24:53):
We will report back about this because this is amazing
and we're always so happy that so many of you
right in and I also played D and D so
love the D and D facts. Thank you great gifts
if you're looking for a gift for the nerd in
your life. Um, and thank you again, Aaron. It's amazing. Yes,
so as always listeners, if you would like to contact us,
(25:16):
we do love hearing from you. Our email is Hello
at savor pod dot com. Well, we're also on social media.
You can find us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook at
savor pod and we do hope to hear from you.
Savor is production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts
my heart Radio, you can visit the i Heart Radio
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Thanks as always to our superproducers Dylan Fagan and Andrew Howard.
(25:39):
Thanks to you for listening, and we hope that lots
more good things are coming your way.
Hello, and welcome to Savor Protection of I Heart Radio.
I'm Any Reads and I'm Lauren vogel Bum And today
we have another mini episode side Dish for You about
weird holiday brand marketing. Yeah, yeah, I've been I've been
mulling over what pun titles I will send for these,
(00:29):
But you know, we're like giving the gift of very
are very morbid fascination with brands and the things they
try every time of year, every time of year around
the holiday season, They're like, well, let's really throw her
all into it, and sometimes the results oftentimes I would say,
I just can't look away from I. I they take
(00:52):
me aback, they make me question things, and it's it's fascinating.
Like we said, which see are Part one. This is
the second was a two parter. Our Part one was
mostly focused on beverages. Um, I just I I was.
I was when I was telling you about some of
these things, I was brought to tears, like it's just
(01:14):
so funny interesting to me. And I did want to
clarify in this our part two because we didn't mention
it in Part one. We mentioned the tears a couple
of times. I don't think that we mentioned that they
were uh cry, laughing tears. They were I'm not going
to say that they were tears of joy necessarily, but
they were happy related tears. Yes, yeah, it was because
(01:37):
I was laughing so hard at what we teased in
that episode, which I guess I'll go ahead and ruin
it for you. But it was ranch on a Branch.
I mean, oh yeah, no, we we mentioned it there too, Yeah, yeah, yes,
And I couldn't stop laughing because it's ranch on a branch.
I don't know what to do with that information. Lord, No,
and I felt the same way you. You said it
(01:59):
to me, and I was like, oh, well, this is like,
what a time to be alive, What a time to
be alive. So, yeah, none of the things we're talking
about are currently sponsors. Yes, we have a whole dynamic
ad system, which I'm happy to explain if anyone wants details.
But currently we are not talking about them because they
(02:20):
are sponsors. We were talking about them because they made
a product they've done. Yeah. Yes, And this is really
just a sampling because since we put this together, which
was never intended to be a two parter, by the way,
I have found so many other items where I'm like, well,
well we can talk about that too, Like, this is
(02:42):
just the thing. There's so many interesting we didn't even
enter the world of candy. The world of candy, so
you know, if we miss any important ones, please let
us know. Yes, yes, but I suppose we should. We
should hop in. So yes, I guess we should hop
in with our I don't know, our top top couple
(03:04):
of food favorite holiday marketing irons. Yeah. Yeah, so let's
start with Spam figgy pudding, Spam figgy pudding, Yeah yeah,
because Spam released a limited edition flavor of Spam that
(03:25):
is figgy pudding. Yeah. Yeah, so you can see our
Spam episode. I know we've talked about figgy pudding before.
Oh yeah, quite a bit in our Fruitcake episode. Actually,
I went back and looked at that outline. Um and yes,
we talked pretty extensively about plum puddings and figgy puddings
(03:46):
in that one. It could probably be its whole own episode.
But yeah, yeah, definitely, um and yeah, we've done an
episode on Spam sure itself. So if you've listened to
that episode, you know that Spam has done some shall
we say, unique flavors in the past. No judgment, but
(04:07):
unique like pumpkin spice. Um. And yeah, so this year
they went with spam figgy pudding and actually Hormel, who's
the company behind spam, did research about this. Um. I
don't think it was very scientific, but their results where
they found that only US consumers actually knew what figging
(04:33):
what figgy pudding was, which I actually think that's higher
than I would have guessed. Yeah, because I know, I
mean we've I've literally written about it and I was like, wait,
what is that? Yeah, it's just not something I've heard
about it in a Christmas Carol. I don't know, Like
(04:53):
I I have a vague understanding of it, but it's
not in my uh for day life or even my
everyday holiday all right, sure, right, right right. I do
not believe I've ever consumed that product or or similar
related products like like, no Christmas puddings have crossed my
lips that I am personally remembering. So I have made
(05:16):
a for Simon pudding which I talked about right, Yeah,
which I really enjoyed. It was really nice. Um. I'm
a big believer in the fruitcake has been maligned in
a way that is not necessarily deserved. Well, okay, okay,
so so in case you are in that that generous
thirty one of Americans who isn't sure what this product is.
(05:38):
A figgy pudding is a type of boiled cake that
incorporates a lot of dried fruits and usually a lot
of brandy, and then you kind of make it ahead
and let it sit for a few weeks. Everything sort
of melds and becomes hypothetically delicious. Sometimes when you're serving
it you set it on fire. Um, I'd say that
(06:02):
that that figgy pudding is one of the more more
old fashioned kind of concepts within this, within this realm um,
and that a plum pudding or Christmas pudding is what
that kind of evolved into. No figs need to be
involved technically. But um, but if you're going to call
it a figgy pudding, I guess you might as well.
(06:22):
I mean, figgy pudding is a great name. We can
all agree on it. It really is. It really is
so spam to to. I guess this flavor profiles their
product with quote cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and clothes, fig
and orange flavors, and other popular winter flavor profiles. Okay,
(06:43):
I kind of no generally what they're talking about, but
I feel like they listed a lot of them right there. Yeah. Yeah,
I'm not sure what other ones there are, but but
right I'm into it. Yeah, good flavors all around. Yes,
but if you're still confused, brand continued quote, still asking
what is piggy pudding? The Spam brand has also created
a soon to be classic animation and song to reintroduce
(07:06):
consumers to this holiday treat. The brand has assembled all
the classic holiday characters, including Santa, Reindeer, Elves, a Jetti,
and of course, the Holiday Hawk to sing we Wish
you a Figgy Christmas, decked out on a stage in
side of a snow globe. But viewers will watch as
these icons struggle to explain figgy pudding but still just
can't get past its delicious flavor. I've watched a solid
(07:31):
two thirds of this animation and uh, I'm I can't
say that it X. I left with more questions than
I began with. Yeah, but maybe it all came together
in that last third. Maybe I did this to myself, um,
(07:55):
but I think I did this to myself either way.
But yeah, Uh. Any time that a brand really leans
into um having like like an like a mascot type
figure that is the animal whose meat product the brain
is selling. I'm always like, oh man, strong choice. Yeah,
(08:17):
yeah for sure. Yeah, this is a whole video you
can watch. They were really big about it. Um. I
will say. The reactions to eating it the product have
been mixed and also just a reminder, you know, if
you like it, you're like, good for you about it.
(08:38):
And some people did like it, but perhaps the kindest
one I read that I thought was pretty funny called
it kind of a surprise with an exclamation point. Okay,
yeah yeah. And then there's an NPR article about it,
and in that article they mentioned that it is shelf
staple in case of an apocalypse, and I can't stop
(08:58):
thinking about that. I can't stop thinking about like a
future generation being like so desperately hungry, and they're like
spam biggy pudding. Yeah, you know, it's sold out, like
everything we're talking about. It's sold out when it's going
for double the price on eBay last time I check,
just like a week ago, So who knows, it could
be even more by by now. But if anyone's tried it,
(09:19):
lets us know. Yes, yes, um, okay, here's a bit
of a shorter one. I just wanted to mention it
because it kind of caused a bit of a wave
last year. I remember they've done it again this year,
and we're talking about Christmas Dinner soup. Okay, Yeah, So
(09:39):
in Hines introduced their Christmas Dinner soup and it's sold
out online in three hours. Um. And it's basically like
all of the Western traditional Christmas meal and particularly the
UK Christmas meal from what I understand. In the soup,
it has stuffing balls, Brussels sprouts, turkey. Due to demand,
(10:01):
they made a bunch more this year, and they're offering
a vegan variety again. I the reviews I read about
it were very funny because most people seem to be like, yeah, yeah,
it's not bad salty, um. But just this whole idea
I find very interesting. This is what I do for
New Years though. I mean, essentially, I just put all
(10:23):
the New Year's ingredients for the traditional Southern meal and
a soup, but make a soup so so so so
you understand the vibe. Yeah, I understand the vibe. It's
like easier I am. I am fascinated by the idea
of stuffing balls as the dumpling format because I had
never I just never thought to do that, and like
(10:43):
as a you know, like like like rather enthusiastic enjoyer
of mats of balls, I'm like, why not stuffing balls?
That's great? I know, I mean, I'm actually intrigued by this.
I feel like, you know you've got you know what
you're getting when you buy like a canned soup that hauses.
I bet you could make kind of like home version
could be pretty especially with those like turkey leftovers and
(11:07):
like you always have like all those good turkey bones,
and it's like, what am I going to do with those?
And then yeah, this sounds I'm a little reticent to
put a brussel sprout in a soup, to be honest,
because the way that I enjoy the most is like
a good hard roast like that, like a really solid
crisp on him, and this is clearly not what you're
going to get. And also they have such bitterness that
(11:28):
I really enjoy that I don't want basically anywhere near soup. Right. Yeah,
But that being said, like like an alternate green I
could see being super tasty. Yeah, And I will say
I'm I'm looking, I'm on the lookout for Thanksgiving leftover
our Christmas left over holiday leftovers recipe because I just
(11:53):
leftovers make me anxious and I want to use them. Also, yes,
all right, this brings us finally at last, to Ranch
on a Branch. Yes, finally we have arrived. Finally. Oh,
it's such a journey we're about to go on. Uh.
(12:15):
And also Lauren and I had a brief discussion about this.
We we might have just a whole offshoot of these
mini bonus episodes. That's just what's going on with Ranch. Yeah. Ranch. Yeah,
we had like a tiny bit of an existential crisis,
like are we just becoming a Ranch show? Is that
what we're up to? And the answer is like, oh
(12:36):
so yeah, yeah. I mean we didn't even talk about
their like fifteen dollar couch that they sold anyway. Um,
today we were talking about Ranch on the Branch, which
is hidden valleys answer to Elf on a Shelf, which
is if you don't know. Very briefly, I never did
this as a kid, but I think it came along
after Yeah, I don't think existed when we were children,
(12:56):
so right, But basically it's like this ELF. I believe
it comes out December one and parents or guardians are
supposed to move it every day and it's like watching
the children and yeah, yeah, it comes with a little
story book and the concept is that it you know,
it sees you when you're sleeping, it knows when you're awake.
(13:18):
Um uh, and it's telling Santa whether you've been bad
or good, so you know, be good. But but also
like like parents can get in on the fun of
like creating little mischievous tableau for this elf to be
a part of. Um I think it's a creepy police
state situation. But um uh. But if but if you're again,
(13:41):
if you're into it, I wish you joy. Like if
if this brings you joy, I want you to be
into it, go go for it. Yeah, well I do
get a I get a chuckle when I hear parents
I feel bad. But it also kind of makes me
chuckle when they're like this elf on the schelf, I
forget to move it that they have to like make up.
I'm excuse. It just sounds like a stressor to me.
(14:02):
But some people really like it. But I've also heard
the kind of the judgment of like seeing parents do
really well with it on Instagram. Really like you're not
you're doing just by you are you are? Oh? My goodness. Okay. So,
ranch on a Branch is their ranch Hit Valley Ranch's
(14:23):
answer to this um. So. It comes with a plushy
named Ranchy, which is an anthropomorphic ranch bottle. It has
velcro hands, um and quote loves Shenanigans. It comes with
a storybook that details how you can help Ranchy become
(14:44):
a real bottle of Hidden Valley Ranch. And it also
comes with a mashing blanket. That's that's nice. Yeah. Uh.
Here is the press release. It's time for your new
holiday tradition, ranch on a Branch. The limited edition collection
features Ranchy and his accompanying printed storybook. Inspired by ranch
(15:05):
on a Branch, a Hidden Value Ranch is donating thirty
dollars to Feeding America to provide three thousand meals two
people in need this holiday season and beyond. And then
they went on further. Sparked by the magic of the holidays,
a ranch on a Branch was created to remind everyone
to spread joy throughout the season. Those who purchased the
collectible are asked to help Ranchy become a real bottle
of Hidden Value Ranch by moving them to a new
(15:28):
spot each day. As a reminder to spread joy to
the people and animals in their life, all right, and
it goes. I mean, this is a whole We could
do a whole back story on Ranchy because according to
the company, you can activate him through acts of kindness,
like playing frisbee with the dog, which was a real
example of the game. That's a good thing to do. Yes,
(15:52):
And I also got kind of going back to your point,
Lauren had a moment of like, if we want to
examine the mindset of a living and moving bottle of
Ranch that wants to become an inanimate object, an inanimate
bottle of Ranch to be eaten, that's a different podcast.
(16:12):
I mean we talk about existential crisis, right. I think
that's one for like stuff to blow your mind that
I think, like Robert and Joe need to look into
that one that is beyond my scout. We should send
them a note note. Oh my goodness, I'm trying to
envision Ranch on a branch. It's like, is that a
(16:35):
thing children would like or is that for adults who
like Ranch? I don't know, maybe it's both. I mean,
I mean kids are fans of Ranch too. Yeah, yeah,
let us know, Yeah, I do I do wonder sometimes
what like the demographic for some of these things are, right,
(16:59):
and and yeah, yeah you know who who knows? Uh? I.
Anytime Hidden Valley Ranch does something wacky and comes out
with something that's that's marked with a Hidden Valley Ranch
lover stamp, right, I'm like, good, good for you. I
still want to do that horror story. Me and Ben
Bowen talked about it. Who is this HVR value lover? Um?
(17:27):
You can see our first short we did, uh for
more information about that. But yes, this sold out immediately
immediately um. And it's also not the first time they
ventured into this holiday product arena. Uh. In one, they
released ranch dog UM. From their press statement, it quote
(17:53):
marries the creamy, slightly sweet elements of eggnog with the savory, cool,
and herby flavors of ranch. Okay, all right, so I
I like, like I heard I read this word ranch nog,
and my whole brain just just geared down, just very quickly.
It made that like one kind of noise, you know.
(18:14):
Uh So I had to look into it. And what
they released here was this limited edition kit that contained
little packets of of of ranch mixed powder um, some
special glassware with that hvr LVR marked on it um
and the recipe for this drink um, which was not
reported on until the Today Show later released the recipe.
(18:37):
As far as I can tell from the timeline, to
be fair, I did not look deeply into it um.
But okay, so um, so basic recipe you're looking at
um equal parts mescal and maple syrup than some heavy
cream and egg white ginger juice, a little bit of
ranch dressing mix, and garnishes of rosemary, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Okay,
(18:59):
So it's like a nice frothy cocktail with these kind
of like like warm savory herbal notes and then like
some some of that holiday spice flavoring. And actually it
doesn't sound bad. Yeah. It's one of those things where
I'm like, I'm having a little trouble envisioning it, but
(19:23):
I do think it could work. I think it could work. Um.
And so listeners, if you tried, if you tried ranch knock, yeah,
you know, I'm I'm I'm willing to make this. I'm
willing to make this in my own home and tell
y'all how But I it's also the kind of thing
that I'm looking at and I'm going like, do you
(19:45):
really need to add the ranch? Is that really would this?
Would this be in fact better without the ranch? Yeah? Yeah,
journalistic integrity word depending now. Um. Speaking of a final note,
(20:06):
I also found this thing listeners called mayo noog um
uh huh, which apparently the company Hellman's suggest you're supposed
to swap out the eggs and eggnog for mayo mayoog.
Yeah yeah um. This one produced a more visceral nope
(20:31):
in me. Um, I have to admit um. But then
the more that I started thinking about it, the more
I'm like, well, like mayo is really just like basically
emulsified eggs. It's like pre emulsified eggs. So I mean
there are other seasonings in there usually um, but most
(20:51):
of the time they're not supposed to be very strong
and so like, so like I could see it working
like it might actually be like a really aren't way
to like save a step mm hmm. Yeah, I have
I agree with you. I actually agree with you. Everyone
knows my opinions on me is, but I do agree. Um.
(21:14):
I'm the mixing part. I'm a little baffle by just
consistency and flavorings. But again, if this is something you
like and earnto, I'm all for it. And and if
you've tried it again, you gotta let us know. You
really deeply need to let us know on on on
(21:36):
that one. Yes, uh yeah, no, I oh gosh, sorry,
is one where the video aspect would be very funny.
It would be I think I think we need to
get the old snack stuff team back together. Um, if
y'all never witnessed those, that was Annie filming me and
(21:58):
Ben Bollen in the kitchen of our office, bothering everyone deeply. Um,
it's Ben and I ate snacks. Um. Some of them
were um, quite unusual to our personal palates. And uh yeah,
some of my friends still still like gleefully show new
(22:20):
people the one where we ate that heck and death
chip um, super spicy. It came in a coffin listeners,
like a mini coffin, not a full sized coffin. Not
a full sized coffin. Yea, yeah, what an experience. Well,
(22:41):
just let us know we need you, We need you, listeners,
anything that we missed, any experience with any of this stuff. Yeah,
any of your own homemade concoctions that might make people
go who yes, um, And speaking of our lovely listener. Um,
(23:02):
we got some extremely exciting physical listener mail recently. Um
uh listener Aaron sent us some custom D and D
dice that have old, tiny pastries inside them. Yes, they
are so so cute. They are beautiful, They're wonderfully done.
(23:24):
If you want to see pictures of them. Uh. Aaron
tagged us on Instagram. You can find Aaron um at
slide into my d M S rpg or at the
website slide into my d M S rpg dot com,
also Patreon dot com, Patreon dot com slash slide into
my d M S rpg. It's really beautiful work. It
is so cute. I love them. I can't wait to
(23:46):
use them pastries inside everybody. Oh, it's so cool. It's
so cool. All your listeners are this right, I y'all,
y'all do so good. I I can't wait until we
get to play D and D again. And it's like
a very important role, some very serious situations. I'm like
(24:06):
like life or death, like you're about term the whole
party and like you out the pastry dice. Yeah, yes,
and it's like everybody's watching. Is this like beautiful purple
sheen kind of dice with a cake in the middle,
goes up, comes down, and then it is hopefully a twenty,
but it could be one you never know that has
(24:31):
betrayed me again. Why I think Aaron's dice is gonna
have a lot of good luck for us. That's That's
what I'm going to choose to believe, although we're on
opposing side, so it's kind of interesting. Yeah, I'm hoping
every time. Sorry, sorry, yeah, we'll see, Um, well we will.
(24:53):
We will report back about this because this is amazing
and we're always so happy that so many of you
right in and I also played D and D so
love the D and D facts. Thank you great gifts
if you're looking for a gift for the nerd in
your life. Um, and thank you again, Aaron. It's amazing. Yes,
so as always listeners, if you would like to contact us,
(25:16):
we do love hearing from you. Our email is Hello
at savor pod dot com. Well, we're also on social media.
You can find us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook at
savor pod and we do hope to hear from you.
Savor is production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts
my heart Radio, you can visit the i Heart Radio
app Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Thanks as always to our superproducers Dylan Fagan and Andrew Howard.
(25:39):
Thanks to you for listening, and we hope that lots
more good things are coming your way.
Savor News
Hosts And Creators
Anney Reese
Lauren Vogelbaum
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