The Mrs. Buttersworth Name Contest. It's About Time.

Kevin and Bean recently turned me on to this: http://mrsbutterworthsyrup.com/namecontest/

Let me start by saying yes, I'm as excited as you are. Let's just compose ourselves though and look at this rationally, shall we?

1. This is the best URL you could get?

Typically "vanity" URLs like this are meant to be quick and short so that people can type it in from memory. With that in mind, you went with mrsbutterworthsyrup.com instead of just mrsbutterworth.com (which you own)? And on top of that you went with /namecontest instead of just /contest or /name? My curiosity led me to my 2nd point ...

2. This isn't their only active contest.

They have not one, but TWO other active contests. What does this say about their target demographic? Apparently if you love syrup enough to go to a syrup website, you are extremely likely to then want to a) burn calories on stories about a bottle of liquid sugar, b) do arts and flipping crafts on behalf of Mrs. B and c) "guess" the name of a fictitious animated talking female glass bottle with no legs. One of these ridiculous wastes of time just isn't enough to satisfy people that love syrup so much they have to turn to the Internet in between trying to induce themselves into a sugar coma every morning.

3. Win BIG!

What's "BIG!", you ask? Lucky for you, I read the rules.

BIG! = A year's supply of syrup + $500 = 1 case of syrup ($550 value) + $500

In other words, "BIG!" is a grand except it's as though you are required to spend half of your winnings on flipping syrup.

And while we're here, a year's worth of syrup = a case? Isn't that something like 24 bottles? 24 bottles of syrup? In a year? Holy balls, people. Can you imagine the average weight of the people entering this contest if they're taking down 24 bottles of syrup per year? No wonder they have time to enter in 3 syrup contests. They can use their 3 hours per day on the treadmill to "guess" Mrs. B's name.

4. "Guess" Mrs. Butterworth's first name? Honestly.

I did a little more research and found that Mrs. Butterworth was originally created in 1961 and, according to the marketing geniuses that created this contest, she had a name this whole time, but I guess they felt they'd sell more sugar sauce if Mrs. B maintained a certain sense of mystery? And now, I guess, is the time to give everyone what they've been waiting for. Now that she's 48 and well into the cougar era, it's time for Mrs. Butterworth to become ... Tina Butterworth? Jane Butterworth? Esther Butterworth? Charisma Butterworth? Whatever the name is, I know I'll be lining up for more sucrose juice and I'll be telling my kids about 2009, the year that the 48-year old mystery was solved.

5. Read the rules or you might get burned.


Who is entering a contest about naming a cartoon food product and using obscene language? "Dear Mrs. B, Thanks for all your f'ing awesome syrup. Seriously pancakes would be s without your gd complimentary f'ing goodness. S. Seriously, Mrs. B. You're the s. F. Is your first name Gertrude?"

On the off chance I win, anyone know if there's a market for cases of syrup on ebay?

P.S. Is Aunt Jemima / Mrs. Butterworth the first weird combination of two nearly identical products coming out at once? Did the likes of Deep Impact / Armageddon and The Prestige / The Illusionist realize there's always room for 2 of everything based on the ongoing success of two bottles of syrup modeled after motherly females?

Yes, this is what I did with my Sunday evening.