UPDATE: Nutella backed down, saying its lawyers misunderstood the situation. They also apparently misunderstood the changing relationship between consumers and brands. But that’s another post, or perhaps many.
Ferrero, the company that owns the Nutella brand, has sent its biggest fan – blogger Sara Rosso, who created World Nutella Day – a cease and desist letter.
She’s just nuts about Nutella, and Nutella, apparently, is just plain nuts. They ought to hire her, not harass her!
The “holiday” has 40,000+ Facebook fans, 7,000+ fans on Twitter, has been covered by CBS,CNN and more major media.
Founder and Co-Host of World Nutella Day since 2007, Rosso is a fan who devotes her spare time to Nutella, and doesn’t make any money on it.
Rosso posted this letter on her World Nutella Day website:
“On May 25, 2013, I’ll be darkening the World Nutella Day site, nutelladay.com, and all social media presence (Facebook, Twitter), in compliance with a cease-and-desist I received from lawyers representing Ferrero, SpA (makers of Nutella).
Seven years after the first World Nutella Day in 2007, I never thought the idea of dedicating a day to come together for the love of a certain hazelnut spread would be embraced by so many people! I’ve seen the event grow from a few hundred food bloggers posting recipes to thousands of people Tweeting about it, pinning recipes on Pinterest, and posting their own contributions on Facebook! There have been songs sung about it, short films created for it, poems written for it, recipes tested for it, and photos taken for it.
When the site goes down, Nutella also loses … “more than 700 recipes which were painstakingly gathered from bloggers sending me their posts and by scouring the internet for the best Nutella recipes, Tweeting and sharing on Facebook your favorite sayings, stories, and links about Nutella, and encouraging everyone to try it just once!”
She’s written a book about Nutella, a song, a list of 10 reasons why Nutella is better than a boyfriend, and lots more.
In a world where brands spend millions trying to entice fans to engage with the brand, this nutty Nutella move falls into a category of brand insanity. Where are the head nuts? Why aren’t they putting a stop to this nuttiness?
