Printing Stuff On Eggs: The Next Big Thing?

from the too-many-puns-to-choose-from dept

Tue, Aug 1st 2006 12:11pm — Carlo Longino

CBS made some news a couple of weeks ago when it was announced the company would advertise its fall lineup on eggshells. While perhaps slightly interesting, the bigger issue seemed to be how people would take to having eggs they were buying being vehicles for ads, without any apparent benefit. Now, a British group has developed eggs with a logo printed on them in thermochromic ink, and only appears when they're properly cooked (via Engadget) -- perhaps saving even the worst cooks among us, who can't even boil the proverbial egg. Marrying the cooking indicator with the ads seems to be the ideal marriage: consumers get some benefit, in exchange for their breakfast being used as a billboard, while some sponsor gets associated with a somewhat nifty invention. We can see it now: "This hard-boiled egg brought to you by the hard-boiled Army Rangers of The Unit, CBS Tuesdays".

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34 Comments

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Xcetron, 1 Aug 2006 @ 12:21pm

If it does get popular then we can start expecting Spams and Ads on those eggs.
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VL, 1 Aug 2006 @ 12:34pm

Re:
So what you are saying Xcertron is that one should expect spam with ones Spam and eggs?
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anonymous coward, 1 Aug 2006 @ 12:41pm

I do not logo'ed eggs & spam, I do not like them, Sam I am.
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Aug 2006 @ 12:51pm

what about when I crack the eggs, throw away the shells, and then cook them? Will I have to mix in the shells into the cake?
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Aug 2006 @ 1:03pm

Re:
"Will I have to mix in the shells into the cake?"

Only if you want your cake to be able to tell you when your eggs are correctly boiled.

Oh, and I suggest NOT throwing out the shells if you intend to cook them into your cake. YUCK!
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Aug 2006 @ 1:09pm

Re: Re:
what about green eggs and spam

then you definitely know the cooked indicator is not working
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JB, 1 Aug 2006 @ 1:10pm

For at least a year I have occasionally bought eggs that had the website of the producer printed on the egg.
http://www.goodegg.com
I think sometimes I have seen the freshness date printed on the egg as well.
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me, 1 Aug 2006 @ 1:14pm

Oh, it's spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, baked beans and spam for me!
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Aug 2006 @ 1:15pm

Re:
thats not bad, a freshness date and a "freshness date brought to you by..."

I through out the egg carton, so I never know the date.
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Wire Cramped, 1 Aug 2006 @ 1:19pm

Can anyone..
I trademark/copywrite first the idea of a body that regulates the cost of printing ads on the side of eggs so that equality in price is ensured and that the big media companies dont hog all the space.

I also trademark/copywrite the idea that the eggs are printed with ads that are directed toward the market in which they are sold.

I further copywrite/trademark the printing of ads on all other food substances that are sold in natural packageing I.E. Potatos, apples, oranges, celery, watermelons, or anything in the produce family or produce section of any store.

I WIN!
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Wire Cramped, 1 Aug 2006 @ 1:20pm

Re: Can anyone..
I already have 16pages of my trademarks and copywrites written on this! I am going to be soooo middle class!
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Aug 2006 @ 1:47pm

They should put little jokes like

Eggs are egg-celent!!

to promote the egg industry
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Aug 2006 @ 1:51pm

How about lazering in "Contact 911 if you think you have salmonella poinsoning"

and a couple of other disclaimers like "broken shells can cut skin" and "may cause slippery floor if egg falls"
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Aug 2006 @ 1:53pm

If we let the FDA in on this...
We'll soon have a disclaimer on EACH AND EVERY EGG letting us know to cook the egg before eating it and not to eat the shell.

Now thats innovation!
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Aug 2006 @ 1:54pm

Re: If we let the FDA in on this...
ooh, and I forgot my favorite.

This unit not labeled for individual sale
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Mark, 1 Aug 2006 @ 1:58pm

And the rest of the eggs?
What % of eggs are hard boiled? Waste of money I say.
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Aug 2006 @ 2:09pm

Re: And the rest of the eggs?
they will get neilsen to see who doesn't hard boil their eggs and skip the ads. Then they will find you IP address and sue you.
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Jeff, 1 Aug 2006 @ 2:15pm

what about finding some way to get the chicken to print on the eggs....now that would be innovation

Yeah no thanks to printing ads on eggs...the only valuable thing i can see being printed on them would be the expiration date, especially since you can never decipher the date on the carton, and most people toss out the carton to put them in their "fancy" egg holders that came free with their fridge
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Cybercop, 1 Aug 2006 @ 2:40pm

..And the not so trustworthy corner market
I like the idea of printing dates on the shell. I once watched a store clerk remove cartons of eggs which had expired and replace broken eggs with the expired ones.
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Black Wolf, 1 Aug 2006 @ 2:59pm

I only eat organic eggs anyway.
I doubt they would make their way down to the little organic farms I buy from. But making the tasteless big company eggs into ads... not too big a deal. Like most people I have learned to block out most ads I see all day. Besides that, I never have my eggs boiled. =)

But yes, due dates on the eggs would rock.
Thanks for reading my 2cents worth.
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Whatever he said, 1 Aug 2006 @ 3:34pm

Don't forget the UPCs
Yes! UPCs on eggs! We can buy them one at a time!

Though you might want to hold off egging anyone; wouldn't want the FBI on your doorstep.
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ModernMan, 1 Aug 2006 @ 4:46pm

Re: I only eat organic eggs anyway
Dude, they're eggs... the whole "tasteless" thing is all in your head... eggs are eggs are eggs... it doesn't matter what they gave the chickens... dead chicken fetuses all taste the same... I've tried "organic" eggs and they don't taste a bit different. Get the "natural is best" crap out of your head... or better yet, keep it in your head and go munch on a strychnos nux vomica tree and do us all a favor
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Adam, 1 Aug 2006 @ 5:22pm

Re: Re: I only eat organic eggs anyway
...idiocy abounds.

the idea behind eating free-range and organic eggs is:

A). no hormones used on the chickens, no pesticides used on the feed for said chickens

and

B). the sweet little chickens dont have to live their pointless little lives in metal cages that are barely big enough for the things body, causing severe atrophy and premature death.

now... i'm no veginazi, so do what you like... i'm just saying keep it to ya damn self.
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modernman is ignorant, 1 Aug 2006 @ 5:54pm

Re: Re: I only eat organic eggs anyway
"do US all a favor"?
speak for yourself if youre not sure everyone agrees with you.
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Aug 2006 @ 6:27pm

Re: Re: Re: I only eat organic eggs anyway
"speak for yourself if youre not sure everyone agrees with you"

I agree (about not agreeing), he might be weird by eating organic eggs, but at least he wasnt trying to BULLY anyone with his opinion.
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Indifferent Egg Eater, 1 Aug 2006 @ 8:20pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: I only eat organic eggs anyway
Why does it happen every time, someone has to come in and make a comment about someone else and how they don't like what that person says? "I like my eggs natural" FINE! I would like mine too if it weren't more expensive to get them that way. "People that think that more natural is better need to shut up" that needs to stop. I would rather talk to someone about the benefits of natural eggs than to hear someone coplain about another persons eating habits. Remember, you are not the one eating natural eggs, so get over it. If he likes them let it be! By the way, I have had natural eggs and yes they taste almost the same but my purchasing them did help out the natural farmers. I would rather help the little guy than give more money to the big one. So please use some sort of respect when reading the boards
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ModernMan, 1 Aug 2006 @ 10:19pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I only eat organic eggs anyway
and the flames abound... all the hippies crawl out from their holes... where to begin... yes idiocy abounds Adam, while I agree to your point a, my point was that when "a" takes place no taste difference comes about from the action and any perceived taste difference is in the consumer's head. I've heard all too often how everything "organic" tastes better, and while some does, most of it doesn't. To address point b, well, frankly I'd rather not. It's more filth being spattered down by organizations that are looking to earn money off of the degradation of companies, I know, there are plenty of farms in my area and the difference between here and the yuppie free range farms out in oregon where I lived for a short period is slim. To "modern man is ignorant", as I just mentioned in the last sentence, I was recently residing in oregon, land of the yuppie shmucks and the "all natural" movement... until you've dealt first hand these people, you haven't the slightest idea... the smug arrogance of that type is shouting out from Black Wolf's post, maybe I notice it more because I've had first hand experience with that type... if you're one of them then my advice to you is the same... go munch on a strychnos nux vomica tree and see how pleasant nature can be. To Anonymous Coward, it's not an opinion... there are no taste differences between the two... and "all natural" isn't always good for you, hence the tree comment. I'm not about to get into a natural / artificial debate, one is merely an inherent part of the other. Indifferent Egg Eater, you won't hear about the "benefits of natural eggs", at least not from any objectional point of view, talking to people from the "all natural" movement, they're so wrapped up in their smug self-satisfaction of why they're better than other people because they're OG (organic [gags]) that they'll refuse to listen to any scientific data claiming it to be "big business" and other garbage of the sort, just like with anthropomorphic global warming. In short these sort of people make me sick... they do nothing to contribute to anything except their own overly inflated egos. I can't wait until they eat the wrong type of amanita and keel over and die.
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Tyshaun, 2 Aug 2006 @ 8:00am

cool idea, mirky future...
So, after they start stampin eggs, what's next. Adds on cornflakes (the individual flakes), adds on individual slices of bread?

At some point advertisers should understand that oversaturation of anything leads to people just ignoring it outright.
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Aug 2006 @ 8:10am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I only eat organic eggs an
man, this is longer than the article, do your really expect people to read this?
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Sanguine Dream, 2 Aug 2006 @ 9:28am

What I wanna know is...
It's safe to assume that the egg comanies are getting paid by these advertisers to put ads on the eggs. That means the egg companies are getting additional revenue. One would like think that would lead to lower prices on eggs for consumers but we all know that extra money is going into someone's pocket. Its goog thing that eggs aren't that expensive.
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Alan, 2 Aug 2006 @ 12:25pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I only eat organic egg
no kidding. I quit after the first running-on sentence...
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Tony B., 3 Aug 2006 @ 10:53am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I only eat organic eggs an
The instant you said "the hippies" you already lost the debate.

Tool.
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Aug 2006 @ 2:11pm

It will ruin EASTER!
There's not enough PAAS to cover up an ad! We'll all have to use those horrible shrinky things and those are a pain to break.

And as far as organics go.... I do not want to eat some weak teeny egg from an elderly crusty chicken butt. Grow em up, kill em young. Delish. Hormones are expensive, so you can bet the analysts decided it's worth it for productivity. And just because the "organic" grower had to breed the chickens until they made comparable levels doesnt make it any more natural. There's little natural about a domesticated agricultural animal.

Unvaccinated, Unmedicated, Uncaged mingling chickens are more often harboring disease and injury, dirtier, and your egg it not immediately harvested, it's kept room temp for hours and sitting in poop. Yay!

And it's not bad to eat hormones, just like all other proteins they get broken down to the amino acid level by the pepsin in your stomach. Load up my food with hormones, it won't matter. (Hormone pills are specially coated)
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ModernMan, 7 Aug 2006 @ 10:49pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I only eat organic egg
"The instant you said "the hippies" you already lost the debate.

Tool."

considering you've offered not one bit of counter point, i'd say i'm in the clear.

and yes, i do enjoy tool... at least up to aenima.
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