COLLEGEDALE, Tenn. -- While McKee Foods said it had nothing to do with Will Ferrell's appearance on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon as snack-cake icon "Little Debbie," the company didn't let the strange opportunity escape.
In a twisted take somewhat reminiscent of his Buddy the Elf character, Will … make that Debbie … said "she" is "the new face of Little Debbie snack cakes."
"I'm not the Hollywood hunk I once was," Ferrell told Fallon. "This mug ain't makin' the moola like it used to. I've got a mouth to feed. My mouth."
Debbie asked the audience, "Do you like snacks? Do you like cakes? Do you like snack cakes? I thought so. Tonight, everyone in the audience has the opportunity to go out and buy some Little Debbie snack cakes! You can but one … and you can buy one …and … "
The Collegedale, Tenn.-based convenience-store baked-goods maker was quick to post the following message on its Facebook page: "We didn't arrange Little Debbie's appearance last night on late-night comedy, but we thought it was hilariously funny."
"McKee Foods was delightfully surprised by Will Ferrell's appearance," Mike Gloekler, corporate communications and public relations manager for McKee Foods, told AdWeek. "While this was not a coordinated publicity stunt, nor a paid advertisement, we appreciate both the humor of the segment and the exposure of our Little Debbie brand to Jimmy Fallon's huge national TV audience."
He continued, "In our opinion, Will Ferrell did justice to the cowgirl hat and the blue and white dress that are hallmarks of Little Debbie. We appreciate his enthusiasm in playing the part. We also enjoyed seeing the studio audience so eager to get their hands on our delicious snack cakes."
And McKee got into the spirit of the gag. Debbie said, "I love them so much, that if I close my eyes and eat something, I can tell you whether it's a tasty Debbie delight or a plain baked potato."
In a followup Facebook post, McKee said, "Last night on late-night comedy, a closely guarded, secret new product was exposed. Now we have to cancel the project. Sorry fans."
The post was accompanied by the image of a "Crème-Filled Baked Potatoes."
And Will Ferrell is no stranger to the consumer packaged goods (CPG) and the convenience-store industry. He and his son have designed holiday coffee cups for charity with 7-Eleven. And he has appeared in official commercials for Old Milwaukee beer, as well as fictitious commercials for the "Scorpion" beer brand.
McKee Foods' Little Debbie is a leading snack cake brand. More than 138 billion Little Debbie snacks have been sold since 1960 in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and on U.S. military bases worldwide.
McKee Foods, a family bakery with annual sales of about $1.3 billion, is a privately held company based in Collegedale, Tenn. Along with Little Debbie, its products include Drake's cakes, Sunbelt Bakery snacks and cereals, Heartland brands and Fieldstone Bakery foods.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.