Folgers’ new ads look like spoofs, but they’re real: Marketer’s Brief

Folgers Coffee’s new campaign is such a departure for the brand that it begs the question: Is this really from Folgers or is it a spoof? In one spot, a woman thinks she’s about to surprise her husband in the shower and instead opens the curtain on her sudsy father-in-law. In another, a dad gets stuck in the chimney while playing Santa. Each ad includes lyrics sung by a choir dubbed the “Folgers Morning Harmonizers” and seems almost ready to air as a “Saturday Night Live” skit. The ads end with the choir’s take on the long-running jingle, “the best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup.” The work comes from Publicis Groupe's PSOne, a so-called bespoke agency for Folgers’ parent company, J.M. Smucker Co. And yes, this is really from Folgers, the brand that brought viewers to tears for years with its commercial featuring son Peter returning home for Christmas. "Our objective for the creative was to shift our storytelling from traditions of the past to modern relatable mornings," Tina Meyer-Hawkes, VP of marketing on coffee, said in a statement. ‘Personalization’ proves polarizing The Association of National Advertisers has named “personalization” as its marketing word of the year, based on voting from 341 ANA members. Stated one member: “Personalization is the holy grail of brand marketing. It provides the ability to speak directly to the consumer or shopper with the right message, at the right time, in the right medium.” But business research firm Gartner has a decidedly different view on the topic. In a report out this week, it projects that “80 percent of marketers who have invested in personalization will abandon their efforts due to lack of ROI by 2025.” The report finds that data collection is a major obstacle to personalization, as data practices face new scrutiny by regulators. Charles Golvin, senior director analyst in the Gartner for Marketers practice, states: “Consumers have developed an increasingly jaundiced eye toward marketers’ efforts to embrace them. Their increasingly cluttered email inboxes and mobile phone notification centers may lead them to ignore even the most carefully personalized and contextualized message. Marketers must really adopt the basics when it comes to test and learn before investing in personalization technology and new tactics.”Hostess bites into wafers Hostess Brands Inc. plans to buy Voortman Cookies Limited, a maker of wafers and cookies, for about $320 million. The deal gives the maker of Twinkies and Ding Dongs a broader lineup including some better-for-you products, such as sugar-free breakfast biscuits. Voortman says it does not use artificial colors or flavors, high-fructose corn syrup or trans fats in any of its cookies. The acquisition is expected to close in early January. PepsiCo’s latest pop (not a soda) In another snack deal announced this week, PepsiCo Inc. plans to buy BFY Brands, the maker of PopCorners snacks. PopCorners adds some better-for-you (that’s what that BFY stands for) snacks to the Frito-Lay North America salty-snack lineup. PepsiCo also plans to use BFY’s production capabilities to support the growth of its existing more-nutritious snack brands, PepsiCo Foods North America CEO Steven Williams said in a statement. Too exclusive for you Lots of girls might have Nike’s latest sneakers on their holiday wish lists—but they won’t find them under the tree. Nike announced this week that it had created a commemorative pair of cleats for soccer star Megan Rapinoe. In pink and gold, with stars to represent the team jerseys worn by Rapinoe and her teammates, the shoes are a young girl’s dream sneakers. “One-of-a-kind boots for a one-of-a-kind player, this special edition will not be sold at retail,” Nike wrote in a press release. A spokeswoman did not return a call requesting comment about possible other iterations of pink shoes for regular shoppers. Mead in St. Louis New hard seltzer brands are seemingly released on a weekly basis, with everyone trying to replicate the success of White Claw. But St. Louis-based craft brewer Schlafly is taking a unique approach to the trend. The brewer this week announced the release of Boomerang, which it is calling a “Mead Spritzer,” made from water, honey and natural citrus flavor. Mead, commonly referred to as the world’s oldest booze, is made from fermented honey and water. Most hard seltzers are made from fermented sugar. “We’ve experimented in various traditional meads in the past, but this is a whole new take on what a mead can be, taking one of the oldest fermented beverages in human history and using that as a lower ABV base for this very modern spritzer,” says Schlafly’s lead brewer Jared Williamson. How long till we see Bud Light Mead Spritzer? Smartypants Ahead of its acquisition by Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade is trying to get smart in its new ad campaign from Havas New York. Called “Where Smart Investors Get Smarter,” the campaign parodies the popular '60s show “Get Smart.” According to a spokeswoman, the cultural reference is expected to resonate with people ages 45 and older. She also notes that the campaign will help differentiate TD Ameritrade from other firms—however, it’s unclear how long such a strategy will be needed as the brand merges into former competitor Schwab. Unilever saving planet one ad at a time Unilever’s Love Beauty & Planet brand has found a new use for The New York Times: as wrapping paper. The brand is buying a center spread in the main news section of the Dec. 8 issue that readers can re-use as “planet-friendly wrapping paper” for the holiday season. The brand estimates that if every American household “upcycled” this as gift wrap instead of buying new wrapping paper, it would save enough paper to cover Central Park 15 times. Of course, first, every American household would have to subscribe to the Sunday New York Times. Would you buy this? Mattress company Serta teamed up with hip hop musician DJ Clark Kent on a limited-edition sneaker with Serta cooling technology. The unisex shoes include a mattress tag with special collection details and cost $99. Number of the week Two minutes: The pace of consumer packaged good product launches in 2019, according to Nielsen Global Connect’s “Top 25 Breakthrough Innovation” report. That is to say, a new CPG product comes out every two minutes in the U.S. That rapid pace leaves a lot of room for failure. Nielsen’s report highlighted the winners, looking at nearly 45,000 products that were introduced in 2017. The top performers include Baby Dove, Just Crack an Egg, Bubly, Lay’s Poppables and White Claw. (Nielsen’s list seems to approximate the 2017 launch timing; White Claw technically debuted in 2016, for instance, and Just Crack an Egg came out in early 2018, according to Ad Age research.) Tweet of the week Give me fucking strength. pic.twitter.com/741QafwMmc— Theo (@tprstly) December 2, 2019 Comings and goings Artsy, an online art marketplace, appointed Everette Taylor as its first chief marketing officer. Taylor had been CEO of ET Enterprises, a portfolio of media and marketing brands that he founded six years ago. Contributing: Jessica Wohl, Adrianne Pasquarelli, E.J. Schultz, Jack Neff

Folgers’ new ads look like spoofs, but they’re real: Marketer’s Brief

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