Playful product messaging is a relatively new marketing development. In these evermore casual times, brands have learned that not taking themselves too seriously and having some fun can resonate better in today's culture. Brands that are playful demonstrate that they have the confidence to do so.
Coca Cola has recently departed from years of stringent protectionism for its classic packaging design and begun to use it as a canvas for sentiment that could be expressed by someone sharing happiness.
Other brands have followed. The relaunch of Old Spice has included a similar technique. Its deodorant stick humor gives a wink to how long the brand has been around, yet gives is an edgy, modern sensibility.
Snickers playful approach is a relatively new direction for the brand, complementing the tv campaign 'Who are you when you're hungry?' that dramatized how different a person's character is when blood sugar is low.
Most likely the brand didn't intentionally seek to exploit the massive Netflix hit House of Cards. Nonetheless 'Spacey' conjures up the Presidential character of that series, whose mood is so perpetually angry it is relate-able as an altered-state mood of someone incredibly hungry. It raises the question of an interesting twist in playful packaging: referencing characters in entertainment culture. Who's next perhaps? Bates the psycho character in Misery? Trump the Real Estate mogul-turned-angry-populist-political-campaigner? Or Oscar the trashcan grouch from Sesame street?
Tapping into cultural themes or memes gives brands a very valuable wavelength to resonate with people, whether deliberate or not.
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