“Alexa, Launch MoonPie MoonMate”

Chattanooga Bakery’s MoonPie and Knoxville-based Tombras has launched MoonPie MoonMate, an Alexa skill and 'Outta This World' virtual roommate that makes it easier to stay in quarantine just a little while longer.

MoonPie MoonMate builds on the iconic brand voice for which MoonPie has become famous on social media, but lives in the interactive world of Amazon Alexa. “We know how hard being stuck inside and distant from loved ones has been for everyone,” said Tory Johnston, VP of sales and marketing for MoonPie. “Our goal for MoonMate was to create conversations with a sense of empathy and understanding, all while staying true to the brand.”

To that end, MoonMate can carry on a conversation for days answering thousands of questions. It’s always prompting new things to talk about, and, just like a real roommate, it will: pay you rent (in the form of MoonPies), avoid doing chores and other at-home activities, give you way too much information about its life, try as hard as it can to keep you inside, offer prompted and unprompted MoonPie facts, history, recipes, and more, make you laugh and keep you entertained with conversation, compliment your wardrobe so much you’ll wonder if it’s going to steal your clothes, talk about MoonPie social media lore like Linda, MoonPie child, and the MoonPie social media manager, ponder space and other celestial marvels, answer popular Alexa questions about the weather, stocks, math problems and so much more...

The inspiration for the MoonPie MoonMate came from a Mayo Clinic report on the body of research showing that laughter helps boost immunity. Laughter has other great health benefits like mental wellness, relieving pain, improving mood and stimulating organs, all of which the world can use a little more of.

“When everyone went into quarantine and started social distancing, we could immediately feel the loneliness and isolation,” said Jeff Benjamin, chief creative officer at Tombras. “MoonPie has always been a bit of a jester and voice of levity, so the brand’s purpose was a natural starting point helping people through distancing, isolation and quarantine.” President at Tombras, Dooley Tombras added: “Three years ago we took a 100 year old CPG snack cake and personified it on Twitter, and now we’re taking that distinct brand voice from that two-dimensional world and bringing it to a multi-dimensional audio experience and another level of brand engagement. In typical MoonPie fashion, it’s totally bizarre and home grown, but it’s a great example of nascent technology getting integrated with everyday life to solve a problem.”

MoonPie MoonMate isn’t just a technological leap for brand interactions, it represents a new frontier for how brands will behave online. “Covid-19 has been a time machine for culture - letting it catch up to where technology got to first,” Benjamin said. “MoonMate hints at the future of conversational content and commerce where a brand’s AI and voice are its soul."

As isolation becomes harder and harder, MoonPie MoonMate makes staying inside just a little bit easier as your 'friend till the end of social distancing.' Activate by telling your Alexa smart speaker or mobile app (iOS/Android): “Alexa, launch MoonPie MoonMate”