This week, we check out some of the latest innovations in the food and beverage space, featuring everything from pizza and drinks to artificial intelligence and numerous Santas. Visit our site each Thursday for a new list of niche campaigns from the past month.
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NBA All-Star James Harden flouts wine rituals in a new campaign for J-Harden Wines.
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J-Harden Wines
5. Pizza Hut gets in on the ‘Girl Math’ trend
Pizza Hut is promoting its $7 Deal Lover’s menu with a lesson in “Girl Math”— the TikTok trend where women justify spending habits, like the idea that items bought with a gift card or cash are free; or returning an item means making money. Anna Sitar, who has over 12 million followers on TikTok and a degree in mechanical engineering, stars in a video demonstrating the deal calculus (“Ordering in means not doing the dishes tonight, saving time. Time is money. Girl math.”). RQ Agency is behind the Sitar ads, which will get paid support on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. The brand is separately promoting its deal menu in national TV ads from GSD&M starring Ego Nwodim of “Saturday Night Live.”
4. Diageo toasts new Cocktail Collection
Diageo is introducing a line of premixed cocktails behind a sophisticated take on simplicity. The Cocktail Collection, new premade drinks using the spirits brands Tanqueray and Ketel One, are featured in an ad sharing a simple secret to a successful holiday party: Pour and serve, no mixing required. A commercial, “You Got It Made,” from the agency Bakery, features Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Were Made for Walking,” and shows party hosts “regifting,” or sharing the drinks among friends. The Cocktail Collection includes a Tanqueray negroni, Ketel One cosmopolitan and espresso martini, and Bulleit old fashioned and Manhattan. The work will run across social, digital and OTT.
3. James Harden flouts wine conventions
James Harden, the NBA star who launched a line of affordable wines last year, is starring in a campaign that playfully challenges the snooty conventions of the category. In “Work Hard, Play Harden,” from Atlanta-based agency Majority, Harden dunks on the pretentious rituals associated with wine such as swishing, uncorking, decanting, sniffing and tasting. The ads are meant to deliver a message of inclusivity and fun, providing a contrast to how wine has historically been perceived, especially by communities of color, according to Accolade Wines, which launched the J-Harden Wines line with Harden.
2. Doritos silences the crunch
In an invention sure to be welcomed by irritated gamers everywhere, Doritos U.K. has unveiled software meant to silence the distracting sound of other people crunching chips. “Doritos Silent” uses artificial intelligence trained on 5,000 Doritos chip crunches to be able to detect and silence the sound of munching chips. The software comes in response to Doritos-commissioned research which found that in the U.K., 46% of gamers dislike the sound of other people eating. In the U.S., 30% say that other people’s crunching distracts them from playing well.
1. Coke’s Santa-filled holiday ad
A city full of Santas perform small acts of kindness for one another before they’re revealed to be the “inner Santas” of everyday people in Coca-Cola’s new holiday ad from WPP’s OpenX. “The World Needs More Santas” will be adopted in more than 80 markets worldwide and features Celeste singing “Anyone Could Be Santa.” Related interactive elements include an online “inner Santa” quiz, and AI holiday postcards.
