Off Brand

Krispy Kreme Found a Way to Make Vaccine FOMO Even Worse

Brands rush in to help end the pandemic with vaccine doughnuts and other marketing stunts

Rob Walker
Marker
Published in
3 min readMar 23, 2021

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A promotional graphic with a partially eaten Krispy Kreme doughnut above a Covid-19 vaccination card, next to the text “Show your Vaccination Card, get a FREE Original Glaze Doughnut”
Photo: Krispy Kreme/Business Wire

Skeptical about the Covid-19 vaccine? Or too lazy to get jabbed even though you’re eligible? Well perhaps you can be persuaded by… free doughnuts. This is apparently the thinking behind a new promotion from Krispy Kreme: Present your vaccination card at its U.S. locations, the Wall Street Journal reports, and you’ll get a glazed doughnut on the house.

The Journal suggests this may mark a new phase in brands’ attempts to find the right pandemic-era tone. The time for caution and concern is fading into a mixture of optimism and cajolery — get your shots, consumers, so we can all get back to shopping and dining and gathering in malls and theaters. And since this sort of persuasion-based promotion involves public health (doughnuts notwithstanding), it comes with a certain halo effect.

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