It's rare for a packaged food commercial to come with a NSFW warning, but the spots for The Kraft Heinz Company's newest frozen meals brand, Devour, come close to warranting one.
In one spot for Devour, which is aimed at men aged 25-35 and has a marketing campaign rolling out Monday, a boss finds his employee having an intimate moment with his lunch, which the excited man gives a sexy slap with his fork. The brand's suggestive tagline and campaign name is "Food You Want to Fork."
It's fitting for a brand that counts "spicy" as a category, with others being creamy, crispy and cheesy. The single-serve entrees come in 12 varieties and include Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese, Chicken Enchiladas Suiza, Chicken and Waffles, and Deep Dish Honey BBQ Chicken Pizza, and are being rolled out to 45 nationwide supermarket chains, including Stop&Shop, Harris Teeter, Safeway and Food Lion.
Another spot features a topless pool boy chowing down on a serve of Chicken Enchilada Suiza as the lady of the house gets increasing worked up talking about the creaminess of the meal with him, only to be angrily interrupted by her husband. Publicis Seattle is the creative agency behind the campaign.
The brand was introduced by Kraft Heinz in a bid to address the feeling that it was underperforming in the $7.2 billion frozen meals category, spoken about by company executives on a May conference call.
The company says Devour will bridge the gap between frozen fare that's cheap and easy and food that's actually "crave-able." "For years there has been an unmet need in the frozen meal category for food that's not just dependable but also something you look forward to eating," Devour's brand manager Molly White said.
Devour is not designed for consumers of Heinz's Weight Watchers frozen meals, but is marketed toward males in their 20s and 30s who might frequently eat single serve meals for the convenience and flavor. Devour's White Cheddar Mac and Cheese with Bacon, which is featured in one of the spots, comes in at 710 calories, while The Angus Beef with Cornbread dish beats it out at 750 calories.
The heartier food comes with a bigger price tag than some of its competitors in the frozen food aisle. Even after its price hikes and boosted marketing budget last December, ConAgra's Banquet still prices its frozen meals at just over a dollar, while Devour's suggested retail price is $3.99.
The Kraft Heinz Company will report second quarter earnings on Aug. 4.
