See the Spots: Snyder's of Hanover Pitches 'Pretzels, Baby'

Snyder's of Hanover wants to bring some swagger to the pretzel business, baby. The Snyder's-Lance pretzel brand is out with its first campaign from Barton F. Graf, using a serious-sounding spokeswoman with dry humor to discuss the virtues of "Pretzels, Baby." Sales have been weak in the overall pretzel category, an issue Snyder's-Lance Chief Marketing and Innovation Officer Rod Troni said not because people don't like pretzels, but more about clutter on the shelves. "There are so many different options for snacking" that people forget what a great snack pretzels can be, Mr. Troni said. Pretzels can be found in plenty of kitchen pantries or cabinets but they're usually shoved in the back, not in a prominent place up front, Mr. Troni said. Now Snyder's of Hanover wants to reframe pretzels as "anything but boring or easy to forget," he said. The campaign will begin with broadcast, social, and digital. The social effort includes Horizon Media responding to people's posts about snacking or pretzels with Barton F. Graf videos of the spokeswoman. Most of the social response videos are short. But one finds the unnamed spokeswoman asking which Snyder's variety the viewer prefers, then going on for more than two minutes listing dozens of different shapes and flavors. The category and the brand "had through the years kind of a slightly boring reputation and we found there was absolutely no reason for that," said Barton F. Graf Chief Creative Officer Gerry Graf. He said the agency wanted to give the brand "swagger," perhaps channeling the attitude of someone like Telly Savalas or Charles Bronson, but decided it would be more interesting to have a woman with swagger in the spots than a man, he said. The agency previously worked on Snyder's-Lance brands including Lance and Cape Cod. "It was time to tackle the big boy," Mr. Troni said."This is the biggest effort that we have put in the last three years to reignite the interest in Snyder's of Hanover and pretzels." Retail sampling, couponing and events, such as those tied to National Pretzel Day on April 26, are also part of the plan. Spending was not disclosed.

See the Spots: Snyder's of Hanover Pitches 'Pretzels, Baby'

Featured Stories