I‘m always interested in discovering new marketing techniques and campaigns online, and this one was brought to my attention by one of my students.

Remember Grey Poupon? Here’s the original commercial from 1988.

Grey Poupon has created a brand that is synonymous with luxury and exclusivity. They want you to think that spoiled rich people use their mustard, and if you use it, you’ll be spoiled, too. You’ll have something in common with billionaires.

They recently introduced a new Facebook campaign called Society of Taste. You can go to the Grey Poupon Facebook Page and ‘Like’ it, but then you need to take a test, to see if you are worthy of ‘Liking’ their page and being a member of the Society of Taste.

You go to the Society of Taste App, and it decides if you are eligible to join or not. Essentially, what the app does is look at how many friends you have, what kind of Facebook reach you have, and, essentially, what your Facebook clout is. Those with only a few friends and not much clout are rejected from the society. The application process is actually quite fun and amusing, and well in line with their brand.

It’s a brilliant piece of marketing. As mean as it sounds, Grey Poupon is, essentially, only accepting the movers and shakers on Facebook to like their page, knowing that those who have lots of friends and who are more interactive on FB will be more likely to share their brand. There is also a rewards system for those who belong to the Society.

Members can “sponsor” in other people who don’t, as they put it, “cut the mustard.”

Check it out for yourself.