I recently saw the new McCormick campaign, yes the spice brand, you never remember until you see it, but it’s iconic at the same time – never changed over time.

With that, I was pleasantly surprised to see their new Cinnamon creative and campaign on Instagram – it stood out to me immediately. I would have never imagined this brand to be clever and delightful.

The tag line: Pumpkin Spice? I never heard of her.

Another tag line: I eat cinnamon because pumpkin is a vegetable.

I naturally engaged and dove deeper into a century old spice brand’s page. That’s an oxymoron for sure! I was soon disappointed to find the campaign was about recognizing women named Cinnamon. Because, where’s the connection to Pumpkin Spice Latte anymore?! A major disconnect.

While disappointing, I certainly had to explore more of their “blog-like” landing page to view more creative. They’re trying. Smart. Turns out there is even another layer. What?

I find women named Cinnamon need to be celebrated for their spicy, sassy attitude and the pride of their name. And they need clothes as unique as them…

Yawn! All for female power and celebrating any size – hey I’m size 10-12, but this campaign is too complex for any consumer to find their way to the cute tees and bags.

McCormick’s horizontal strategy, or is vertical – I don’t even know strategy – into a clothing line with major advertising dollars and inventory to boot is going to prove a poor investment.

Especially since it appeals to women named the #14,046 on the popular name list in the babycenter.com rankings. It is however certainly intriguing and a bold move!