The junk food playbook

Case Study: Two Brands, Two Strategies, One Clear Winner

The best product doesn’t always win. The best marketing does.

Let’s look at two companies competing for the same customers.

One is dominating the market. The other is struggling to keep up.

Brand #1: The Market Leader

The first company sells a craveable, wildly popular product that people love instantly.

Their brand is bold, loud, and impossible to ignore. Their product is engineered for pleasure—designed to be so satisfying that people don’t just want it, they need it.

They don’t just have customers. They have fans.

✔ They sell emotion. Every ad makes you feel something—indulgence, nostalgia, even rebellion.
✔ They build identity. Buying this product isn’t just a choice—it’s a statement.
✔ They simplify the message. No nuance. No complexity. Just an easy, repeatable hook.
✔ They create urgency. Scarcity, exclusivity—every decision feels immediate and necessary.
✔ They reward loyalty. Once you’re in, you stay in.
✔ They frame every choice as a battle. It’s not just a snack—it’s a way to fight back against the people who want to take it from you.

They don’t just sell food. They sell belonging.

And they’re winning.

Brand #2: The Competitor with the Superior Product

The second company has a genuinely better product. It’s made with high-quality ingredients, backed by science, and proven to be healthier, more sustainable, and better for the long term.

It’s a smarter choice. But it’s not selling.

Because while their competitor is selling an experience, they’re selling information.

But it’s not just that. GoodEats actually has a strategy, too. It’s just a different one.

✔ They sell trust. Instead of hype, they lean into credibility—transparency, sustainability, and research-backed claims.
✔ They focus on education. They believe if people understand the benefits, they’ll make the right choice.
✔ They trust that customers will weigh the facts and act responsibly.
✔ They build long-term value. Instead of quick rewards, they emphasize lasting benefits, health, and well-being.

They’ve done everything right—at least on paper.

But the market isn’t behaving the way they expected.

The Problem: Why GoodEats Is Losing

GoodEats expected that once people saw the facts, they’d make the switch.

They believed that consumers were rational decision-makers—that they’d compare the options, recognize the clear benefits, and choose the better product.

Instead, they’ve found themselves outspent, out-messaged, and drowned out by a competitor that doesn’t care about playing fair.

• While GoodEats is carefully explaining the benefits, JunkCo is making people feel something.

• While GoodEats is hoping people will do their research, JunkCo is making sure they don’t have to.

• While GoodEats is assuming the truth will win, JunkCo is making sure their audience never even looks at the facts.

GoodEats isn’t losing because they have a bad product.

They’re losing because they’re playing by a rulebook their competitor burned years ago.

The Realization: If GoodEats Wants to Win, They Have to Change the Game

If GoodEats wants to compete, they can’t just sell the facts.

They have to sell a movement.
They have to sell identity.
They have to sell an emotion people crave.

Because the rules have changed.

If you’re waiting for people to make the “right” decision based on information alone, you’ve already lost.

If GoodEats wants to beat JunkCo, they need to take a page from their playbook—but use it to tell a better, more powerful story.

That means:
✔ Make the better choice feel just as irresistible as the bad one.
✔ Tell a story people want to be part of. Facts don’t sell—narratives do.
✔ Create identity-driven loyalty. People don’t just buy products—they buy a version of themselves.
✔ Leverage emotion. People need to feel something before they act.

The Reveal

This isn’t about food.

Read it again.

Brand #1 is the Republican Party.
Brand #2 is the Democrats.

One sells a feeling. A movement. A tribe.
The other sells a list of reasons.

One builds emotional loyalty.
The other assumes logic will prevail.

One tells you what you want to hear.
The other tells you what you should know.

And we wonder why people keep reaching for the junk food.

Marketing matters.

If you want the better product to win, you don’t change the product. You change the strategy.

Because the other side already has.