Chiquita goes bananas over eclipse

The upcoming solar eclipse — particularly the moments leading up to it and following it — has provided a unique marketing opportunity for Chiquita.

Kicking off its “We Are Bananas” marketing campaign, the company will stream the eclipse live on Facebook and play up the banana shapes that occur as the moon moves between the earth and the sun.

“Chiquita will move the moon in between the earth and the sun and, for two glorious moments before and after the total eclipse, turn the burning ball of gas in the center of our solar system into a giant banana,” the company said in a comical news release.

The Facebook live stream, along with a series of promotional videos, will be available at thebananasun.com. The stream of the eclipse will begin at 9:15 a.m. PST on Aug. 21.

“From debuting our iconic blue stickers in 1944 to introducing the world to Miss Chiquita, we’ve always aimed to drive Chiquita’s message of fun through vibrant and light-hearted visual storytelling,” Chiquita Brands International president and CEO Andrew Biles said in the release. “‘We Are Bananas’ continues that tradition with new and exciting out-of-this-world creative for our fans.”

Chiquita will give away banana-shaped glasses for viewing the eclipse at a banana-shaped installation in New York City.