It takes dozens of people, expensive robots, and fancy cameras to bring a fast food commercial to life. But they use real food on set, so they work against the clock to film each take before it starts to wilt. We visit The Garage in Brooklyn, New York, to see how the crew films advertisements for clients like Hershey’s, Pepsi, and Domino’s.
Almost everyone’s gotten ketchup on their clothes at some point, and Heinz, whose name is pretty much synonymous with the condiment, is well aware.
Inspired by these mishaps, it has partnered online resale platform ThredUP tto launch the Heinz Vintage Drip collection, comprising 157 articles of second-hand streetwear and designer pieces intentionally stained with ketchup.
“While Heinz is recognized globally for its iconic glass bottle, keystone, and slow-pouring ketchup, we saw an opportunity to view the stain we’ve been leaving on clothes as another iconic brand symbol and change the narrative from stain to statement,” explained Alyssa Cicero, Brand Manager at Heinz.
“This collection is about sustainably celebrating the character Heinz ketchup stains add to apparel, inviting our fans to embrace a new iconic symbol,” she added.
The release comes at a time when the demand for secondhand clothing is higher than ever, with the 2022 Resale Report showing that 62% of Gen Z and Millennials search for a thrifted item before purchasing it new.
By believing that every outfit deserves a second life, “even summer barbeque casualties,” ThredUp wanted to work on a collection that celebrated reuse, and what better way to appeal to fashion risk-takers and food lovers alike than with ketchup-stained clothes?
In addition to the eco-friendly message, the capsule was specially designed to be inclusive across all sizes and genders, ranging from XXS to XXL. 100% of the proceeds from the sale will go towards Rise Against Hunger to support global hunger relief, so you can feel extra good about your purchase.
Source: DesignTAXI
Artificial intelligence has proven time and again that creativity can be taught, having been the brains behind some headline-making artworks, and even a magazine cover, of late.
Now, it’s making its way into adland. But don’t worry—instead of stealing jobs, it’s being used as a resource for an experimental project by advertising agency 10 Days. Here, the studio still assumed the role of a creative director of sorts while Midjourney, an invite-only AI platform, followed the instructions of its human coworkers.
The tool was led simply by the cues of six genre-based words, including “sci-fi,” “noir,” and “cinematic,” to produce spec work for companies like Nespresso, KFC, Gucci, British Airways, and Ray-Ban. Projects that would have each taken human creators months to finalize were concluded by the AI in minutes—with 24 wholly unique designs per brand.
These tools, of course, aren’t for everyone. We can name a few minimalist brands that would turn their nose at the idea of launching advertisements in the form of surreal, Salvador Dalí-esque nightmares.
With that being said, the experiment is a teaser of the implications AI might have on the industry. It envisions a future where less time is spent on ideation to allow more space for execution and delivery. Picture relying on one of these to dream up virtually countless storyboards, or even packaging designs.
“It’s staggering what AI can achieve given the right set of prompts and keywords,” describes Jolyon White, co-founder and creative director of 10 Days. “We’re now able to create 24 layouts in the time it takes our Art Director to take their first sip of coffee.”
Source: DesignTAXI
Old Spice and Arby’s have joined forces to tackle the meat sweats with the long-lasting sweat protection of Old Spice Sweat Defense Dry Spray. No longer will you live in fear of that treacherous moment halfway through a delicious Arby’s Half Pound Roast Beef Sandwich when the dreaded meat sweats strike with a vengeance. To defeat it once and for all, you need the limited-edition Meat Sweat Defense kit now available at Arbysshop.com/products/meat-sweat-defense-kit.
The key defense against the meat sweats is…drumroll please…the Old Spice Sweat Defense Dry Spray with its 24/7 sweat and odor protection! Each Meat Sweat Defense Kit is equipped with two dry sprays in popular scents that protect guys from the meat sweating potential of the Half Pound Roast Beef Sandwich. But that’s not all! Alongside the dry spray will be a one-of-a-kind viral-worthy roast beef-patterned Meat Sweat sweatshirt and sweatpant with a co-branded towel and headband.
“A collaboration between Old Spice and Arby’s to solve the age-old problem of the notorious meat sweats that we’ve all faced at some point was a perfect match,” said Matt Krehbiel, Old Spice vice president at Procter & Gamble. “Old Spice continues to look for ways to leverage signature humor and unexpected partnerships that remind them of the importance of long-lasting protection, even if it’s after eating a Half Pound Roast Beef Sandwich.”
Source: Business Wire
In celebration of National Orange Juice Day, juice company Tropicana is expanding its product portfolio – and hoping to catch the eye of younger consumers via a new push on social media – with the upcoming release of Tropicana Crunch.
Orange juice has long been a breakfast staple, but most of us prefer it in a glass. Now Tropicana is shaking things up by encouraging consumers to try orange juice directly on top of their cereal.
The juice company has just announced the upcoming release of Tropicana Crunch, its new breakfast cereal, which has been created specifically to be paired with orange juice instead of milk. According to the brand, this is an untraditional culinary combo that 15 million Americans – ”the total populations of New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago combined” – have already tried.
Tropicana Crunch is slated for release on May 4, National Orange Juice Day in the United States. Consumers can visit http://www.tropicanacrunch.com beginning on May 4 to snag their own box of the honey almond-flavored cereal.
Even the brand acknowledges on its new product’s website that Tropicana Crunch is a bit of an oddity that may not immediately become a culture-wide phenomenon. “Orange juice on cereal. Some call it weird. Some call it breakfast. We… didn’t even know it was a thing,” the brand says on the Tropicana Crunch website. “It may not be for everyone (but it could be for you!).”
The brand hopes to boost engagement with fans after the release of its new breakfast cereal with an accompanying social media campaign. Whether they “loved it or loathed it,” the brand says, fans are encouraged to describe their experience with Tropicana Crunch on Instagram and TikTok while tagging the brand and using the hashtag #TropicanaCrunch. The brand has also recruited a cohort of “TikTok’s top taste-test influencers” to try the OJ-drenched product and spread the word to their legions of followers.
Source: The Drum
Cracker Jack is celebrating the groundbreaking achievements of female athletes by introducing ‘Cracker Jill,’ a new series of female characters that will appear on product packaging beginning later this week. The announcement of the campaign is accompanied by a new spin on the old classic Take Me Out to the Ballgame – which calls out Cracker Jack by name – performed by pop star Normani.
“Cracker Jack has been around for over a century,” said Tina Mahal, vice-president of marketing at PepsiCo, Frito-Lay’s parent company. “This brand has been around for a lot of moments, specifically in sports. [It’s] been around as records were made and as rules have changed. And as we’ve seen rules change, we’ve seen a big transformation happening; throughout sports, girls and women are really changing the face of the game. Because of that change, and because of our connection with sports, we thought it was high time that we introduced Cracker Jill … what we’re trying to do is really shine a light on representation of women in sports, and show women that they are represented, they’re acknowledged and they’re celebrated on even some of the most iconic sets.”
The Cracker Jill campaign features a line-up of five female characters, designed to reflect the five most represented ethnicities in the United States.
The new initiative will include a $200,000 donation to the Women’s Sports Foundation (WSF), a non-profit organization founded in 1972 by Billie Jean King, which aims “to expand access and opportunities for girls and women in sports,” according to the organization’s website.
Bags of Cracker Jill will be exclusively available in Major League Baseball stadiums beginning on April 7, the opening day of the league’s 2022 season. Fans can also visit crackerjill.com to make a donation to the WSF, upon which they’ll receive a special-edition Cracker Jill bag.
Cracker Jill wasn’t designed to serve a limited-edition role, though. “The intention is for Jill to join Sailor Jack as a permanent member of the team roster,” Cracker Jack said in a statement. “She’ll fully remain part of the brand ethos as Cracker Jack and Frito-Lay continue their commitment to equity and representation.”
The new campaign includes a modernized cover of Take Me Out to the Ballgame produced by Normani – previously a member of the pop group Fifth Harmony – in partnership with the Cracker Jack team. The new music video opens with text that reads: “Sometimes all it takes to believe you can do something is to see someone who looks like you do it first.” Following a montage depicting young women breaking barriers in a variety of sports, the video cuts to a shot of Normani standing in front of a microphone on a baseball diamond. “Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jill,” she sings. “No one can stop you if you have the will.”
“One of the most well-known ways that Cracker Jack is associated with baseball and with sports is through that seventh inning stretch and the song Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” Mahal says. “The lyrics that are in there – ‘buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack’ – are woven into the culture of the country and the fabric of baseball. We thought we would tap into that cultural connection … and so we partnered with Normani, someone [who] is a trailblazer in her own right … to update that song. She reimagined the lyrics along with our Cracker Jack team to really celebrate the tenacity and grit of women and girls in sports.”
Source: The Drum
Success invites imitation, and there is little doubt that international QSR brand Kentucky Fried Chicken—or KFC if brevity is more your thing—has ruled the roost when it comes to tasty morsels of deep-fried poultry and sides. So many copycats have hatched over the years that KFC has decided to address the phenomenon again with a cheeky website called Chicken Stock.
Styled after popular stock photography websites, Chicken Stock offers free-to-use high-resolution images of KFC’s menu items. On Chicken Stock’s about page, the QSR brand explained that it had noticed many competitors using fuzzy, pixelated pictures of its signature chicken. Rather than let its food get poorly represented, they’re making available quality photography. KFC explains that “even though they [competitors] can borrow our pictures, they will never borrow our taste.”
It’s not the first time KFC has used copycats to remind folks of the real deal, made with a secret blend of 11 herbs and spices. In 2019, the brand ran its “Guys, we’re flattered” campaign that featured a clever poster composed of different imitators’ store signs arranged alphabetically, in addition to TV advertising.
While the Colonel takes no umbrage with all the Kentucky Fake Chickens, there is a limit, of course. In 2013, the brand threatened to take legal action against a Thailand restaurant with a trade dress styled after KFC’s that replaced Sanders with Adolf Hitler.
Source: The Dieline
Burger King’s latest campaign with David Madrid is confusing meat lovers as it continues to reinforce its commitment to offering plant-based alternatives.
‘Meat?’ plays on the visual similarities between animal-based products and meat-free options with a striking, very close up series of print and out-of-home (OOH) ads with the tagline: “Sorry for the confusion, meat lovers”
On closer inspection of the ad imagery, meat lovers may be surprised to realize they are actually looking at red pepper, beetroot and radicchio.
“Many times, guests can’t tell the difference between the traditional Whopper and the plant-based Whopper,” said André Toledo, executive creative director at David Madrid.
“So we challenged a food photographer and a food stylist to shoot some vegetables in a way that would make them look like meat. The idea was to create ads that would make people ask themselves ‘Wait, is this meat or is this a plant?’”
“At Burger King, our plant-based products often feel, taste and look like real meat; yet many guests are skeptical,” added Iwo Zakowski, head of global brand marketing at Burger King.
“We wanted to bring a visually powerful message that makes you reconsider that not everything in life is what it seems to be. At Burger King, there is always something on the menu for everyone.”
Source: The Drum
Fast-food rivalries have been longstanding, and perhaps no rivalry has been more fun to watch over social media than that between Wendy’s and McDonald’s.
From Wendy’s savagely slamming the Golden Arches on Twitter over the seemingly forever broken ice cream machines to the former calling its new hot honey chicken sandwich “anything but McBland,” it’s safe to say that the two know how to riff each other when it comes to who reigns supreme.
Wendy’s latest not-so-subtle campaign is taking it one step further, and it looks like social media has caught on rather quickly.
Over the past few months, Wendy’s has put billboards up around Chicago advertising its famous French fries after the recipe was reformulated in August 2021 to maintain a fresher and crispier consistency upon delivery.
“What we’ve done is balance the cut of the fry and kept a little bit of the skin of the potato on the fry to be able to drive flavor,” Wendy’s President Kurt Kane said at the time. “We used a batter system that allows us to be able to maintain crispiness, both when they’re fresh and hot out of the fryer as well as several minutes later.”
The billboards read “hot and crispy fries don’t arch, just sayin’” alongside a photo of a folded fry that has an uncanny resemblance to half of the “M” in the famous McDonald’s Golden Arches symbol.
Naturally, Twitter took note and had a field day with it.
“I have tears in my eyes from laughing so much,” one user commented below one of the billboard photos. “I love how savage @Wendys is.”
“Twitter’s not enough..so we’re taking it to the streets now, huh, Wendy’s,” another joked alongside a crying laughing emoji.
Wendy’s even tweeted back a sly face emoji at one of the original posters, playing along with the social media fodder.
The fast-food chain still maintains that their fries are preferred 2:1 to McDonald’s.
Your move, Mickey D’s.
Wendy’s was up 12.59% year over year as of Friday afternoon.
Source: Entrepreneur
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