# Why no honey commercials on TV?



## Oldbee (Sep 25, 2006)

I agree wholeheartedly! Almost every major agricultural product produced in the USA should have an advertisement "spot" on TV.

"California cheese and even those silly cranberry juice commercials". HEY!! Watch what you is callin',.........."silly"!! We grow cranberries in Wisconsin and who cares about California cheese anyway? Probably imported from China! and,.. "smells",.. anyway.

Yeah!! A honey commercial on the Super Bowl! Why not!!? Certainly somebody can afford 20 seconds of air time?


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## JohnK and Sheri (Nov 28, 2004)

One would think the Honey Board should be doing something like this. Of course, the beneficiaries of generic honey ads would be disproportionately from China and/or Argentina. The _National_ Honey Board's mandate does not allow specifying OUR nation's honey.
Sheri


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## BEES4U (Oct 10, 2007)

*and who cares about California cheese anyway? Probably imported from China! and,.. "s*

I believe Land of Lakes has a an extensive dairy operation in the lower Kern County as I did a road trip.
Sorrrrry. But, we do out produce you! LOL
Ernie


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## BEES4U (Oct 10, 2007)

Does'nt Sue Bee partly sponsor the Super Duper foot ball game.
Ernie


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## michituck (Nov 21, 2007)

I've seen one here in Indiana several times.
It is sponsored by the Honey Board and features Tony Saragusa.


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## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

JohnK and Sheri said:


> The _National_ Honey Board's mandate does not allow specifying OUR nation's honey.
> Sheri


And the reason for this would be . . . . ? Hello NHB, you're suppose to be representing US, not THEM! 

Ah, another agenda for beesource, promote local honey!!

- Barry


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## riverrat (Jun 3, 2006)

*it could happen anythings possible*

While attending the KHPA meeting last fall. Jerry Brown gave a talk on the direction the national honey board was going with promoting the health benefits of honey. Much in the same way the california almond growers promoted almonds a few years back with great success. The board has done the math figured out if each person in the USA would eat a teaspoon of honey a day. honey consumption would skyrocket. The US producers operations couldnt keep up with the demand which in turn would drive the price up. My concern is the USA opening up boarders and letting even more foreign honey in. This would not benifit the American producers. With that said I wouldnt be suprised in the near future if we dont see some comercials touting the benifits of honey.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

It's not unusual to see Sue Bee mentioned as on of the sponsors of the game show Jeopardy. I imagine that if an organization of that size could afford more TV commercials they would have. Do you know anyone who has a couple million dollars for a 30 second ad during the Super Bowl? I don't. Maybe NHB doesn't have an advertising budget.


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## tecumseh (Apr 26, 2005)

some years back I was working for one of the 'founding families' of sue bee and the proprietor told me that sue bee knew that advertising would move product. at this point in time and given that there is not enough us production to cover consumption, what would be the advantage of spending money on advertising selling some product you don't have?


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## BjornBee (Feb 7, 2003)

The national honey board promotes all honey as they collect taxes (They may call it something else, I call it a tax, and an illegal one in my opinion at that) from all honey both foreign and domestic. Thats why they promote general honey use.

Seeing as the U.S. beekeeping industry produces less than half of the honey we use in this country, I am not sure that anything would be better than the market we now have.

If you increase the U.S. production to the levels needed to cover the imports, we would have just as many bottles on the shelves. Price may or may not go up, and that is not driven solely by production costs, but supply and demand also. And those traditional complainers of competing honey from outside sources will be just as hurt financially by the larger operators that would control the larger share of market. I see the blocking of outside foreign honey as perhaps a temporary spike in prices enjoyed by all as the supply side would be less. But these advantages by all, would be quickly tilted in the mega operators favor, and the smaller operators would again be at a loss (less clout, higher overhead, less profit, etc.). But this time, they would be without the "made in U.S." niche market to use to their advantage, as all honey would be made in the U.S. 

As it stands now, a market does exist for every U.S. honey producer in the form of an american made product that can be promoted separately from foreign, processed, and blended honey. 

But that market is dictated or changes with the beekeepers direct ability to promote, market, educate the consumer, supply, and take advantage of niche markets. And if you can't do that against a foreign honey source, you certainly would not be able to do it against a mega-operator down the street from you.

The market is what it is. And if your [edit by mod] about the market today, you would be [edit by mod] about the market tomorrow, regardless of whatever some perceived change might bring about in fantasy land of some beekeeper imaginations.

Sounds to me as if some want someone else to market, educate the public, advertise, and sell their honey. Sounds like a losing idea. And I don't think thats a model for success.

Much of what I spoke about is in regards to the smaller non-taxed beekeeper.

And for the smaller beekeepers wanting someone else to market their honey, then I will gladly advertise for you. Just please except my 2% honey "tax' that all small beekeepers should pay to cover such expenses.....  Please send checks at your convenience....


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## BjornBee (Feb 7, 2003)

Profanity?? Well I guess for the some. I guess "bellyachin" may be just as good.

Sorry Barry. 

I bet the average reader seeing "edit by mod" and then reading "profanity" at the bottom probably thinks about a dozen more profane thoughts than what the word meant to begin with. Its funny that way, huh?

I'll write that one down in the ol' "don't use this word again" file.

I did do a search of numerous definitions. Other more apparent words of the profanity theme, are clearly defined with the definition as being "Vulgar, slang, profanity". And yet, not one categorizes the same label with the word I used. Its clearly eye opening. Interesting for those who have the time.


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## spunky (Nov 14, 2006)

*honey*

Well this answers my question from the post in the other forum.

Is this really any different issue than cheap manufactured goods, than simply cheaper foreign labor ??? I assume to produce extracted honey enmass does take some labor who is willing to work for marginal wages around insects that sting ????


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## bigeddie (Feb 19, 2008)

BjornBee said:


> The national honey board promotes all honey as they collect taxes (They may call it something else, I call it a tax, and an illegal one in my opinion at that) from all honey both foreign and domestic. Thats why they promote general honey use.
> 
> Seeing as the U.S. beekeeping industry produces less than half of the honey we use in this country, I am not sure that anything would be better than the market we now have.
> 
> ...


The producer didn't make any more money advertising milk, he just paid the bill and made the bottlers pockets bulge. Won't bee any different with honey.BjornBee you are right on my friend!!


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## HVH (Feb 20, 2008)

This may be a rabbit trail, but it is interesting that people will pay huge amounts of money for a varietal wine but think all honey is the same. I started keeping bees about 10 years ago because a swarm caught my attention. At the time, I had no idea that honeys were so diverse. It seems like the marketers of wine know something that we don't (getting the word and imagery out). Actually, I used to make wine and enter it in competitions, so I can appreciate a good wine. But, I have found honeys to be even more distinct as varietals than wines (and last longer). Can't we describe our honey as "full in the mouth, complex, with earthy overtures and perfect balance" and charge $20.00 for a pound? After we get the 20 bucks, we need to inform the consumer that they should consume the whole bottle in one evening as not to interfere with the bouquet. A few national tastings by world renowned connoisseurs could be published in high end honey magazines with all the usual accoutrements. 
I think the bee industry (and Ag in general) has a very different image, though; one where uncle dad gets off his tractor at the end of the day, grabs a beer from the front porch (living room) refrigerator that was custom built on the southwest wing of the trailer home. Uncle dad is happy with his hound dog and three squares and really wouldn't know what to do with more money if he had it.
Why do people purchase Budweiser type honey instead of the microbrewery honey? There really is a failure here in communication. My family stopped at a honey store on the California coast (Beekindbees.com - Sebastopol) where we were able to purchase for the first time Tupelo, Black Locust, Basswood, Buckwheat and Fireweed honeys - what a great experience. We also stopped at Sattui Winery in Napa, California and purchased a bottle of good wine, several cheeses and bread. Can anyone explain why the wine and cheese experience is understood by all whereas the honey experience is not? The Buckwheat honey is quite a different experience than the Basswood honey but who would no that? Would a meadery, honey, and baklava tourist trap do as well as a small winery? What can be done to inform the public that varietal honeys are a great experience?


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## JohnK and Sheri (Nov 28, 2004)

BjornBee said:


> The national honey board promotes all honey as they collect taxes (They may call it something else, I call it a tax, and an illegal one in my opinion at that) from all honey both foreign and domestic. Thats why they promote general honey use.


I understand the logic behind their advertising generic honey only. I also agree that the "tax" is illegal. Unfortunately the courts disagree with us.



BjornBee said:


> If you increase the U.S. production to the levels needed to cover the imports, we would have just as many bottles on the shelves. Price may or may not go up, and that is not driven solely by production costs, but supply and demand also. And those traditional complainers of competing honey from outside sources will be just as hurt financially by the larger operators that would control the larger share of market. I see the blocking of outside foreign honey as perhaps a temporary spike in prices enjoyed by all as the supply side would be less. But these advantages by all, would be quickly tilted in the mega operators favor, and the smaller operators would again be at a loss (less clout, higher overhead, less profit, etc.). But this time, they would be without the "made in U.S." niche market to use to their advantage, as all honey would be made in the U.S.


I don't see domestic supply of honey keeping up with demand anytime soon, agreed. I don't think anyone is talking blocking all imports (well, maybe a few are ). Competition is a good thing but only with a level playing field. Reasonably we cannot expect to close off imports of foreign produced honey. It is reasonable for those countries to abide by our safety standards and that they abide by existing anti dumping laws. By trying to compete with an inferior product or one unfairly marketed we hurt our domestic producers and the consumers they serve.
At this point it is looking like world supply is decreasing, along with the dollar's value and I expect prices to rise accordingly, in line with supply and demand. The lessening of pricing pressures will lead to a healthier, more diverse domestic marketplace, NOT the other way around.
On local levels, many beeks are competing now and differentiating themselves successfully. The honey they sell is a drop in the bucket of US consumption. Hopefully this will change with the ongoing education of the public as to the benefits of local honey. The lessening of foreign pricing pressure will help this effort.



BjornBee said:


> As it stands now, a market does exist for every U.S. honey producer in the form of an american made product that can be promoted separately from foreign, processed, and blended honey.


Yeah, just ask the US Garment Industry, sure worked for them.  One problem is existing labeling makes it hard to tell the difference.



BjornBee said:


> The market is what it is. And if your [edit by mod] about the market today, you would be [edit by mod] about the market tomorrow, regardless of whatever some perceived change might bring about in fantasy land of some beekeeper imaginations.


I find it sad if you consider the goal to assure a safe fair market place for honey in this country a fantasy land.
Sheri


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## Jim Fischer (Jan 5, 2001)

The "Golden Blossom" Honey Company (the Patons) advertises on 
AM Radio in the New York/NJ/CT area on WINS 1010 or WCBS 880.
(I forget which one.)
The ads even have a (circa 1940s?) JINGLE, so I suspect that
they have been advertising on the radio for decades.

These two "all news" stations give traffic reports every 10 mins - 
"on the 8s" for 880 and "on the 1s" for 1010, so they are listened
to by millions of people every day. Even people who don't own cars
listen to the traffic reports, as they include the public transit systems 
in the traffic reports.

They also got their honey a prominent product placement in the
"Bee Movie" movie, but I don't think they got anywhere near the
exposure they had hoped to get, as the movie was not exactly
a blockbuster.


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## beegee (Jun 3, 2003)

*Advertising*

What's the point? There isn't enough honey being produced right now in the USA to meet the demand. You want to advertise to sell Chinese, Argentine, & Vietnamese honey? It costs lots of money to advertise on TV. For the return, it would be a no-win for honey producers. The best thing to happen to bees is CCD, as far as getting publicity and public interest in bees and honey.


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## Ken&Andria (May 2, 2007)

> I've always wondered why they haven't conducted an advertising blitz like they did for milk. They were classic commericials with a memorable tag line --"got milk?"


https://www.reason.com/news/show/29050.html
http://www.reason.com/blog/show/109692.html

Bee careful of what you wish for...


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## Shapleigh's Bees (Mar 8, 2008)

_"Brown Eggs are Local Eggs, and Local Eggs are Fresh"_

Everyone in New England knows the jingle and they haven't run it in years. And even though modern trucking can get white eggs on the shelf at the grocery that are as fresh as the brown eggs, at about a 10% retail discount, most of the eggs on the shelf are brown.

_Got Milk?
Beef - It Does a Body Good.
Pork - The Other White Meat._

Stimulating demand should increase consumption and pricing of all honey. As JFK said, "A rising tide lifts all boats."


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## Swobee (May 18, 2007)

The beef industry producers pay a "checkoff" fee at livestock sale time, a set amount per head. This checkoff helps fund their 'Beef, it's what's for dinner' campaigns. Honey producers would have to be willing to accept a checkoff or similar fee to fund a campaign. As mentioned, the foreign marketers would also benefit, as many consumers think 'honey is honey'. 

Why do Germans consume so much more honey than we in the US per capita. I'd have to look up the numbers, but the average German consumes several times the honey we do, while US citizens consume more percapita than the English do. Does anyone have ideas why honey is so popular in central Europe compared to here? Do they do something different over there or just that's how it is?


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## JohnK and Sheri (Nov 28, 2004)

Swobee said:


> Honey producers would have to be willing to accept a checkoff or similar fee to fund a campaign.


There _is_ $.01 a pound fee being collected right now, whether we like it or not. I guess the folks spending the money, in their wisdom, deem it better spent other places than TV advertising.
They have forwarded some funds to CCD research, a good thing, imo.

Interesting question about Central European consumption....I am curious about this too.
Sheri


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## Keith Jarrett (Dec 10, 2006)

JohnK and Sheri said:


> There _is_ $.01 a pound fee being collected right now, whether we like it or not.
> They have forwarded some funds to CCD research, a good thing, imo.
> Sheri


Well Sheri, gotta disagree with you on this one.

The NHB should promote honey and nothing else. They are taking money from keepers to promote honey and that's what they should do.

If I were paying for honey promotion and they were spending on this so called CCD, I would be upset.


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## Bob D (May 15, 2005)

*On a More Comical Side Of Things....*



tecumseh said:


> At this point in time and given that there is not enough US production to cover consumption, what would be the advantage of spending money on advertising selling some product you don't have?


I may be crazy, but isn't that EXACTLY what is being done with oil (so they say)? Although honey isn't "needed" to get to work and and heat your home and so forth so we obviously wouldn’t make the 120 BILLION dollars a year the Oil Companies are (Which converts to about $248.00 a SECOND 24/7 if my math is right). Although, if my math is right again, Honey does cost more than gas! But, if we can pick up and drive the market and the prices go up some, that would be fine by me! I’d surely invest in far more hives than I have now. A couple or three grand a week doing what I love and I’d be living large!

Everyone can't be an "oilman/woman" but, almost anyone with the room and some commitment and dedication CAN, indeed, at least give a go as keeping bees. So, if the market was driven and there was a shortfall of product, but the prices were right, wouldn't that inspire more of the current beek's to increase the number of hives and for others to get into it?

I'm not an economic specialist so that is why I decided not to run for President this year.... (But clearly that hasn't stopped others from being president!) But it seems logical to me! 

Note: This is coming from the guy who can't get his hives to live through the winter! LOL I'm sure you've seen my posts! LOL!

Bob


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