After over a century of levity, The Laughing Cow has changed one of its most recognizable brand assets and refuses to say why.

Exactly a month ago, I wrote about The Laughing Cow turning its famous cheese wedge into a themed vehicle.

Now it’s pulled something even more intriguing with the cow herself.

She done stopped laughin’!

On September 22, Bel began rolling out special packages of The Laughing Cow Original across more than 4,700 U.S. stores.

Looks like the usual classic red cow with the cheese-wheel earrings.

BUT instead of yukkin’ it up like she’s been doing for 105 years, she looks downright sombre.

Image: Bel Brands

The packages say “We need to talk.”

And that’s about all Bel is telling us.

“The Laughing Cow has spent more than 100 years reminding us not to take life too seriously,” U.S. CMO Jamee Pearlstein said.

“So when she suddenly gets serious, you pay attention.” The company says the change is temporary and promises the explanation will come later. 

My first thought was that something serious must be coming. Perhaps a social or environmental initiative that makes the disappearance of her smile mean something.

Maybe. But as of today, I can’t find evidence confirming that. Bel is deliberately keeping the reason secret. 

This doesn’t appear to be a worldwide personality crisis.

The campaign is specifically from Bel Brands USA.

The website here in Canada still presents the familiar cheerful brand and says The Laughing Cow is “sure to make you smile.” (Phew.)

The UK site currently leads with “It’s better to laugh.” For Brits, at least.

And I found no announcement of the serious-faced packaging rolling out in Canada, France or other international markets. 

Which makes the marketing experiment worth watching even before we know the punchline.

Most brands trying to attract attention add something.

A new logo or a dancing celebrity. A flavour, character or promotion.

The Laughing Cow yanked out an emotion.

And ’cause that smile has been repeated on packaging for generations, its absence is instantly conspicuous.

You don’t need to know what changed to know something changed.

That’s the power of owning a distinctive brand asset long enough and consistently enough. Once customers have learned what belongs there, violating the pattern creates its own signal.

There’s some risk.

Grocery shoppers make decisions quickly, and messing with familiar packaging can interfere with recognition.

Bel is protecting against that by keeping virtually everything else recognizable, including the red cow, earrings, package shape and product itself.

So the disruption is precise. You could easily miss it.

I write in I Need That about the enormous value brands build when their colours, shapes, characters and other distinctive elements become shortcuts in customers’ minds. The Laughing Cow has accumulated more than a century of that equity.

Now Bel is demonstrating another thing you can do once you own an asset that thoroughly:

Take it away.

I’m curious enough to want to know why she stopped laughing, and to possibly get you wondering.

Which means, so far at least, it’s working.

If you’d like help creating and marketing products people feel compelled to buy, the product marketing consultants at Graphos Product can help.