You may be familiar with the idea of living “la dolce vita,” the Italian phrase meaning “the sweet life,” but what about living “la dolce Velveeta”? 

Today, the Kraft Heinz-owned brand unveiled its first logo revamp in two decades alongside a creative campaign, all aimed at evolving the processed liquid and block cheese products and pasta meals from mere packaged food to a decadent lifestyle.

In 2020, 81% of brand growth for Velveeta's Shells & Cheese product came from first-time customers—presumably those looking for quick comfort food-focused meals while staying home during the pandemic. Velveeta reports that retention among those buyers has been strong in 2021. The rebrand was inspired by this new generation of diners and trades the brand’s traditional logo for one that is more bold and simple, standing out more easily on its own.

The redesign was headed by agency Jones Knowles Ritchie. The changes to the text were inspired by the gooey drip of Velveeta’s product. Animations attached to the campaign show how the liquid cheese’s flow morphs the font of branded copy, creating a wavy fluidity within and between the letters.

Similarly, the badge-like format of the previous logo, which rested on top of a circular background with the slogan “liquid gold” attached, morphs in another animation as if the circle’s exit whirled the new logo into forward-moving momentum, swinging the old underline into the cross of Velveeta’s “t.”

“The world around us was shifting, and there were countless examples of icons and celebrities who didn't fit in, who marched to the beat of their own drum, and the world loved them for it. It was time we did the same,” said Leah Bowman, associate brand manager of Velveeta Shells & Cheese at Kraft Heinz, of the rebrand. “We’re stepping out in a more confident, unapologetic, emotionally resonant way, remembering what made us iconic in the first place: the pleasure you feel when you experience the irresistible, unbeatable, creamy taste and melty texture that only Velveeta can deliver. Our new logo is simpler, bolder, more creamy and more expressive, we celebrate our creamy delicious drip across everything we do, and we celebrate people who revel in who they really are.”

Velveeta will implement the redesign across its range of products and touchpoints, like Shells & Cheese, sauces, dips and recipes. The new packaging gathers busy nutrition and description text into a colored bottom sliver to emphasize the package’s product and Velveeta’s new logo. Rather than a spoonful of shells in the bottom right of the Shells & Cheese box, the redesigned box features a creamy mass of shells across the front, foregrounding the logo and oozing down into the product information. The redesigned packaging will hit shelves in 2022.

To promote the rebrand, Velveeta teamed with agency Johannes Leonardo (which worked on the rebrand campaign for Kraft Heinz’s Oscar Mayer) for a creative campaign that promotes the “la dolce Velveeta” lifestyle. The hero spot, “That’s La Dolce Velveeta,” was helmed by Harmony Korine, the filmmaker behind films “Spring Breakers” and “The Beach Bum” as well as photographic Gucci campaigns and lookbooks. The 60-second ad depicts the glamour a Velveeta dish can bring to everyday settings.

Set to the tune of “O Mio Babbino Caro,” an elderly woman mows her lawn with a martini glass of Shells & Cheese in hand while another woman plucks the cheesy morsels from an umbrella toothpick while tanning in a kiddie pool. A group of blinged-out young adults toast teacups filled with melted cheese and a man dips chips into a sauce-filled trophy while lounging on a square of turf. The vibrant and sumptuous ad delves deep into the rebrand’s ethos: extravagant pleasure is as accessible as a box of cheese.

The Italian references in the spot’s soundtrack, tagline and styling may seem a curious turn for the all-American brand, but Jeph Burton, group creative director at Johannes Leonardo, said the idea was to evoke the captivating spirit of iconic fashion and lifestyle brands.

“Velveeta has historically been firmly planted on American tables in its advertising, but that’s when it was being presented as product more than spirit,” he said. “The spirit of the brand is actually in its consumers bold enough to buck convention and do things in their own way. It immediately called to mind those iconic but romantic images of the classic Italian brands ingrained in our collective memories—Versace, Gucci, Valentino, etc. The fact that ‘la dolce vita’ could so easily be turned into ‘La Dolce Velveeta’ just managed to be the perfect excuse to pull it off.”

Hunter Hampton, group creative director at Johannes Leonardo, said that “instead of couching the product in the usual table setting, or worse, hiding it until some reveal at the end, we celebrated it throughout. It’s the new accessory indicative of the mindset you wish you had.”

In February, Velveeta will dig deeper into the “dolce Velveeta” lifestyle by appearing in the pages of Vogue, imitating fashion spreads. "We wanted to boldly go where we’ve never gone before,” Hampton said of the brand’s first time in the magazine.

“Why shouldn’t Velveeta deserve to be iconically featured in Vogue?” he said. “But rather than simply do a traditional ad buy, we wanted to try to hack the medium—turning these images into a collection of spreads, where the brand is complementary to the lifestyle it represents. Each image within the spread is complemented by a caption nodding to what they’re wearing and their lifestyle: always La Dolce Velveeta.”