The Laughing Cow has been doing exactly what its name says for more than a century. But he has stopped doing it. The cheese brand has temporarily removed its red cow’s signature smile for the first time in more than 100 years to draw attention to those small, everyday arguments that end up pitting people against each other.

The action is articulated under the concept “The Not Laughing Cow” and began by generating mystery. Some Creamy Original containers appeared on American shelves with the usual serious mascot and a message: “We need to talk.” The product remained exactly the same and a QR code directed to a website created specifically for the campaign.

The brand also transferred the change to its digital content. In different pieces, the cow appeared alone and visibly discouraged, sitting in a diner or swinging on a swing. The explanation for what had happened was initially kept secret and consumers were invited to come up with their own theories.

Now The Laughing Cow has explained why: he went out to find out what people were laughing at and found, instead, people arguing over insignificant issues.
The campaign is based on what the brand calls “wedge issues”small questions capable of opening a gap between people who, seen from a certain distance, would hardly justify a discussion.

Among the examples he uses are the Oxford comma, whether or not to recline your seat on an airplane, or the unwritten rules of group chats. Disagreements also appear on the campaign website about how the toilet paper roll should be placed, whether all the graffiti is vandalism or the conflicts generated by the differences between iPhone and Android messages.

The idea also plays with a double meaning directly related to the product. A portion of The Laughing Cow is a “wedge,” a term that in English can also refer to that which creates a division between people.

“A portion is made to give us joy. But the small issues that divide us are separating groups of friends, families and complete strangers”says the brand. Thus, if The Laughing Cow has remembered for more than a century that one should not take life too seriously, the character stops finding reasons to laugh when he observes that people do just the opposite.

The campaign thus uses one of the company’s most recognizable assets as the main means of communication. The modified packaging has been distributed in more than 4,700 stores in the United States, making the campaign begin on the shelves themselves.

The Laughing Cow was created in France by Léon Bel in 1921 and, although its identity and packaging have evolved over decades, the smile has remained an essential characteristic of the character.

“Whatever finally affected her, it must be worth talking about. We’ll let her explain when she’s ready.”“said Jamee Pearlstein, Chief Marketing Officer of Bel Brands US Cheese, during the first phase of the campaign, when the company was still maintaining the mystery. The mechanics thus made it possible to transform more than a century of brand consistency into the creative resource itself: to draw attention to The Laughing Cow, in this case, it was enough to make it stop laughing.

The brand asks for help to recover the smile

Once the reason has been revealed, the second part of the action seeks to directly involve consumers under the motto “Spread the Laugh”.

The Laughing Cow proposes to share on social networks, using the hashtag #SpreadTheLaugh, videos about those small issues that are generating unnecessary discussions. Participation begins with the phrase “Here is the issue that divides us…” and it must explain a slight disagreement with a partner, brother, friend, roommate or even with a stranger on the internet.

The brand expressly establishes the limits of the conversation: no politics or serious issues. The proposal focuses on those everyday issues that shouldn’t matter too much but, for some reason, end up causing confrontations. And participants do not need to change their minds or accept the opposite position. The goal is to recognize that perhaps the discussion has taken on disproportionate importance and end the video by asking the cow to laugh again.

The campaign thus transforms the initial mystery into a participatory dynamic. First he modifies a historical code to provoke the question of what happens to his character; then use the response to spark a conversation around an idea closely related to the personality the brand has built over decades: taking the little things a little less seriously.