While Barbie’s summer ascent in youth pop culture has been well documented, another unexpected brand has made gains with Gen Z: Ritz Crackers. The Mondelēz-owned brand actually beat Barbie in the latest Ad Age-Harris Poll Gen Z brand tracker, which ranked brands that made significant progress in gaining attention from Gen Z in the third quarter.

Ritz took the top spot in the poll, with Barbie in second followed by Dolby, Nature Valley and Pillsbury. Of course, the campaign for “Barbie” began running months before the movie was released on July 21 (the first trailer dropped in early April), so the Mattel-owned brand had already gained momentum before the third quarter began. The poll shows that the surge continued during the quarter. 

“While Ritz Crackers and Barbie are both already ubiquitous as brands in the United States, both enjoyed massive increases in brand momentum this past quarter—amid the Barbie movie craze and Ritz's summer ad campaigns,” said Harris Poll CEO Will Johnson. “Ritz's relative jump in both familiarity and quality in the eyes of Gen Z are what earned it the top spot in this quarter's rankings.”

Ritz’s rise can be tied to some timely social media marketing, including some related to the only celeb who might have outdone Barbie this summer—Taylor Swift. The cracker brand was among the marketers posting about “seemingly ranch,” a phrase that went viral after Swift was seen at a Kansas City Chiefs game in September watching Travis Kelce play while enjoying a chicken finger and what appeared to be ranch dressing and ketchup. Ritz also joined in on the Roman Empire social media meme.

Read more about the Roman Empire TikTok trend

Ritz also seems to have gotten a boost from “Today” host Hoda Kotb, who during an August segment of the NBC morning show said she keeps a sleeve of Ritz Crackers handy as a nighttime snack. She also shared a Ritz Cracker cake recipe for her birthday and said cheese and Ritz was her choice of “girl dinner.”

Ritz also partnered with Philadelphia Cream Cheese earlier this year to encourage consumers to pair the two. There was also a Ritz-themed challenge on “Top Chef,” and a mini version of the crackers rolled out in April.

Conducted quarterly, the Ad Age-Harris Poll ranks brands by how much their equity has changed with Gen Z—that is, how much this generation’s perception of these brands is changing from quarter to quarter. It surveys U.S. consumers ages 18-24; younger members of Gen Z are unable to answer without adult supervision, so are excluded from the analysis.

Below, a closer look at the trends behind the third-quarter poll.

We’re just all Barbie girls

Barbie’s placement in the poll follows the the movie’s blockbuster success, which comes as part of what some are calling #BillionGirlSummer that includes the Beyoncé and Swift tours.

“From Taylor Swift to Beyoncé to Barbie, the summer of 2023 captured Gen Z’s imagination: four in five of whom believe that women supporting women is a key trend fueling today’s economy,” Johnson said. “The Barbie movie—with the combined heft of Warner Bros. and Mattel's marketing efforts—have reexamined and reenergized the classic American brand for a new generation."

Mattel worked with 165 partners on brand collaborations and deals and those “mini product drops” helped contribute to the marketing might, according to Nathan Baynard, Mattel’s VP of global brand marketing. Such partnerships included working with Gap and Forever 21 on apparel collections and Impala on roller skates.

Snack supremacy

It was a particularly good quarter for snack brands, with Clif Bar (sixth), joining Ritz, Nature Valley (fourth) and Pillsbury (fifth) in the rankings.

Nature Valley expanded into savory snack bars in May, with everything bagel, white cheddar and smoky BBQ flavors, as consumers looked for more savory and salty snacks to cut back on sugar. Pillsbury recently rolled out banana bread batter in a tube. Last month, Clif Bar launched a series of tennis clinics across the U.S. in partnership with professional tennis player Frances Tiafoe.

Staying hydrated

Consumers weren’t just hungry, they were thirsty. Smartwater (12th) ran a campaign over the summer that starred Pete Davidson as a water-dispensing robot, while the real Pete got to chill on a boat. Another campaign from the Coca-Cola Co. water brand featured Zendaya styled in clothes by up-and-coming designers.

In June, PepsiCo-owned SodaStream (13th) rolled out a new campaign called, “If you can dream it, you can stream it.” The ads highlighted how users can customize their sparkling water by adding Pepsi, Starry and Bubly flavor mixes. It also rolled out a new direct-to-consumer subscription program for its CO2 canisters, and it started partnering with convenience stores in the U.K. as in-person refill and return points. 

A pair of alcohol brands also made gains: Hennessey came in seventh, after the cognac brand released a short film by “La La Land” director Damien Chazelle. Hennessey also partnered with rapper Nas for a limited-edition bottle celebrating 50 years of hip-hop.

Bacardi (ninth) also honored the anniversary with an ad during the “MTV Video Music Awards” featuring DJ Premier and Don Toliver. The rum brand also launched a campaign over the summer including a speakeasy pop-up, NFTs and a Snapchat lens. Recent new flavors and innovations include mango chile and a glow-in-the-dark bottle for Halloween.

More on some other brands that cracked the list:

Dolby’s second-place ranking follows the audio entertainment brand’s announcement this summer that Dolby Atmos devices, the brand’s surround-sound technology, will now work on the PlayStation 5 and TCL TVs. 

Under Armour (eighth) brought in new designers to improve its women’s, footwear, and sports styles categories. The brand also recently named John Varvatos as its chief design officer, and named OMD as its agency of record. It launched its first loyalty program, UA Rewards, in August. The company also used ChatGPT to write “The Ultimate Team Talk.” Recent campaigns have starred NFL player Justin Jefferson and basketball player Steph Curry.

Firehouse Subs (10th) brought back its popular King’s Hawaiian pork and slaw sandwich after eight years. Customers can now also use the app to order the Pepperoni Pizza Meatball Sub. The sandwich chain also launched a new Smokin’ Triple Stack Sub. In June, it ran a “name of the day” program, and customers with that name could come in for a free medium sub.

Kraft Heinz (11th) has been busy over the summer. In June, the food giant kicked off “It Has to be Heinz,” its first global creative campaign that featured real fans’ love for Heinz ketchup and baked beans. It also launched microwavable Lunchables grilled cheeses and spicy ketchups. Heinz also had a viral tweet proclaiming that ketchup should be stored in the fridge. On the breakfast side, Kraft Heinz started rolling out IHOP coffee in grocery stores and Maxwell House frozen iced lattes.

Earlier this year, Taco Bell (14th) succeeded in “liberating” the “Taco Tuesday” trademark from smaller rival Taco John’s. The brand celebrated by giving fans a free Doritos Locos taco every Tuesday in August, and then partnered with DoorDash to cover taco orders from local Mexican restaurants. The fast-food brand has also kept customers engaged with limited-time offerings, including rolled chicken tacos and more vegan menu items.

Krispy Kreme (15th) launched a search to expand its “C-Sweet” with a chief doughnut dreamer. Fans could apply via social media for the chance to join the company’s innovation team to make their favorite dream doughnut and get a year of free doughnuts.

Krispy Kreme also gave away 225,000 free doughnuts to English fans over the summer for the Women’s World Cup. The company also began distribution at Target and has been keeping up the seasonal offerings, including Barbie, Biscoff and Halloween donuts and apple fritters.

L’Oréal (16th) had an AI campaign showing a vintage car with a giant tube of its liquid lipstick driving around Paris, which went viral on Instagram. Kendall Jenner and Thuso Mbeu were announced as brand ambassadors. L’Oréal also acquired Aesop earlier this year.

USA Today (17th) turned heads when it announced that it was hiring reporters to cover both Beyoncé and Swift.

Reebok (18th) announced a long-term sponsorship with Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields. Reebok also made a pair of shoes that featured Gary Vaynerchuk’s alpaca illustration from his VeeFriends NFT line. The brand is trying to cater to higher-end customers with better-quality shoes. Most recently, Reebok named Shaquille O’Neal and Allen Iverson president and VP of Reebok Basketball, respectively, and signed an NIL deal with LSU’s Angel Reese.

Months before it hits dealers, Cadillac (19th) has been promoting its first all-electric Escalade with a Times Square takeover, a customized song from Big Boi and a TV and digital campaign starring Simu Liu.

Avocados from Mexico (20th) announced in August that it had a record-breaking year, thanks to “strategic marketing campaigns, creative shopper partnerships and seasonal programs, a record-setting number of foodservice limited-time offers designed to encourage demand.” 

The avocado brand also had a string of partnerships, including a sponsorship of the College Football Playoffs. It worked with Sprinkles Cupcakes to make a cupcake with chocolate made from avocados. And it joined with the LA Galaxy soccer team to bring more avocado offerings to the team’s home stadium eats lineup. Avocados from Mexico also renewed its support for the Susan G. Koman nonprofit in support of breast cancer and funded a culinary scholarship during Hispanic Heritage Month.