Campbell’s holiday ad inspired by the real mother-son story of an A+E Networks executive

Campbell’s has partnered with A+E Networks’ Lifetime—and borrowed from the real-life experience of one of the channel’s executives—to craft a new multiplatform holiday campaign titled “Spoonful of Joy,” anchored by an extended commercial that clocks in at 6 minutes and 30 seconds. Opening in 2006, the ad shows a single mother, played by actress Tatyana Ali, unsuccessfully trying to persuade Milo, her son with autism, to eat. It’s only when he runs off in the supermarket that he finally finds a food item that looks appealing to him: Campbell’s soup, with “Cake Boss” star Buddy Valastro appearing as a grocery clerk who helps little Milo reach the very top shelf. The heartwarming ad progresses through the years, jumping to 2010, then 2018 and finally the present day—featuring cameos by Valastro throughout—as its narrative follows Milo’s growing love for the culinary arts. Check out the 60-second teaser trailer below: “Our approach to this content was first and foremost a cooking story,” said Marci Raible, VP of integrated marketing at Campbell’s, noting that the company’s holiday partnership with Lifetime aims to go “beyond the traditional marketing approach.” Building on the brand’s existing “Joy Nights In” campaign, which first began five years ago via a partnership with Walmart, the new work was developed in conjunction with A+E Networks’ production team and Publicis Media-owned media agency Spark Foundry. “The decision to extend the commercial's runtime to nearly seven minutes allows for a more in-depth exploration of the cooking story, creating a meaningful connection with viewers,” Raible said. Based on a true story The commercial’s storyline was inspired by the relationship of A+E Networks’ VP of brand creative at Lifetime, Jennifer “Fergie” Ferguson, and her 10-year-old son, Joey, who has autism. “My son and I, during COVID, when schools were shut down and we were doing virtual, a lot of what we did together was cooking,” Ferguson said, adding that Joey was first diagnosed with non-verbal autism at the age of two. “Food is a very tangible item and something understandable to children on the spectrum. You can touch it and get that sensory input; you can eat it and taste it and see if you like it,” Ferguson said. “When you find something that you can connect with your non-verbal or emerging verbal child, it’s really a gift. And cooking was one of those things for us.” With that backstory, Ferguson felt that lending her experiences to a Campbell’s campaign was a natural fit, and no stone was left unturned in the collective pursuit of making “Spoonful of Joy” as authentic as possible. In addition to hiring an actor who has autism to portray one of Joey’s fictional counterparts, the production crew enlisted nonprofit Best Buddies International and autism therapy firm Positive Pathways as consultants to make sure both the on-set environment and the tone of the campaign were genuine, respectful and supportive. Ferguson even pored over old photos and videos of her son to use as reference material “so that the commercial is as authentic as possible to our journey.” “This was truly a labor of love, touched by a big portion of the A+E Networks family,” she said. “I have probably seen it about 300 times.” Making a ‘holiday commercial event’ The new commercial will be airing in full this Saturday during the premiere of Lifetime movie “The Holiday Proposal Plan”—which, much like “Spoonful of Joy,” also stars Ali and will feature Campbell’s product integration. But despite the spot’s limited run on TV (it will air one other time, during Lifetime’s “Yes Chef! Christmas”), the campaign as a whole is hardly fleeting. “We tried to do something different with ‘It’s a Wonderful Lifetime’ this year,” said David DeSocio, A+E Networks’ executive VP of ad sales partnerships, referencing Lifetime’s annual holiday movie blitz. Beyond traditional 15-, 30- and 60-second broadcast spots, DeSocio noted that the company also emphasized “short-form storytelling” to advertisers this year, as well as a number of new digital platforms, social media integrations, direct response-style ads and more. “[Campbell’s] took advantage of almost every platform we have to offer this year” and will be activating in partnership with Lifetime and its stars throughout the holiday season, DeSocio said. But “Spoonful of Joy” is not the first time A+E has partnered with an advertiser to develop a long-form spot, which the media company styles as “holiday commercial events”; KFC and Procter & Gamble have both received the “mini-movie” treatment during recent Christmases past, DeSocio said. “It’s this longer-form commercial storytelling, it seems to connect really powerfully with our viewers,” DeSocio said.

Campbell’s holiday ad inspired by the real mother-son story of an A+E Networks executive

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