This week, we look at some of the latest food-based promos. Visit our site each Thursday for a new list of campaigns from the past month.

5. Heinz dives into 'burger-dipping' trend

Cashing in on the TikTok trend of burger-dipping, Kraft Heinz has released a product designed for dunking hamburgers in sauce. Heinz Dip & Crunch combines a tangy mayonnaise-based sauce and crispy potato “chunchers”—tiny chips—in a two-in-one package, in both regular and spicy varieties. The item, priced at $2.49, provides consumers a convenient way to add a decadent zest and crunch to their burgers.

Heinz debuted the product through an early rollout in select Jack in the Box restaurants before taking it to retail stores nationwide this year. Kraft Heinz officials said the product is the first innovation from the “Kraft-O-Matic”—the company’s cheeky name for an analytics program, run in partnership with Google. The program integrates consumer insights, point-of-sale data and other marketing information to identify coming food trends and product development opportunities.

4. A sweepstakes gone to waste

It turns out that the potential of leftover food isn’t the only thing consumers are failing to see in their fridges.

In an experiment designed to make a point about the overlooked plague of food waste, Hellmann’s and agency Wunderman Thompson erected a series of billboards around New York City picturing an open refrigerator and the caption, “There’s more in your fridge than you think.” Amid loose asparagus spears, chickpeas in Tupperware and half a red pepper was a note with a call to action: the first to spot the card and alert the brand with a direct message on Instagram could win a $1,600 prize—a figure equal to the amount of money that the average American household wastes on thrown-away food every year.

Over the course of April 18-25, an estimated 4.4 million consumers saw the ad, which also appeared on Hellmann’s Instagram page—but not a single consumer claimed the prize. “This creative campaign highlights how we’re all guilty of leaving money on the table by not taking a closer look at what’s in our fridge,” said Ben Crook, senior director, dressings and condiments for Hellmann’s parent, Unilever.

The stunt supported Hellmann’s overarching “Make Taste, Not Waste” campaign, whose goal is to enable 100 million people a year to be more resourceful with food so they waste less, an action with positive effects on sustainability, climate change, public health crises, and economic health.

Read more on Hellman's campaign here. 

3. Baskin-Robbins grows up

Baskin-Robbins, the 77-year-old ice cream chain, made headlines this month with the introduction of an updated logo that accompanied a new campaign called “Seize the Yay.” The updates come as the brand nears the end of a three-year brand reset and addressed some “uncomfortable truths” about its brand perception, VP of Marketing and Culinary Jerid Grandinetti told Ad Age, including that its logo, last changed in 2006, skewed “juvenile.”

The chain worked with the design firm ChangeUp on the grown-up logo, which retains the colors, the number 31 and just a hint of the company’s original circus-inspired look. “Seize the Yay,” from longtime agency 22Squared, positions Baskin-Robbins as a companion to small moments of happiness that don’t necessarily need to be celebratory or raucous. “Happiness is not a lottery you win, it’s a choice you make, and the smile doesn’t have to be a happy one. It can be an empathetic smile or an appreciative smile,” Grandinetti said. “That’s a mature perspective for a mature brand.”

Read more about Baskin-Robinns' new logo here. 

2. The mainstreaming of oat milk

Between the creative anti-marketing of Oatly and guerilla tactics recently undertaken by NotCo, it’s not easy to stand out in the alternative milk space.

Chobani’s new oat milk campaign plays off the notion that its establishment in the fast-growing but competitive category since its 2019 launch has taken oat milk everywhere and to everyone, mirroring the ongoing mainstreaming of the plant-based foods niche. The “Chobani has oatmilk, so everyone has oatmilk” campaign comes from The Martin Agency and portrays the product showing up in nail salons, alien abductions, football fields, rap lyrics and metaverse video games. The brand is staging a series of real-world events pictured in the ad, including exclusive nail designs in the Soho flagship of the Chillhouse salon; a TikTok dance challenge to the rap song “G.Oat”; and an online video game developed on the Roblox platform.

1. A snack of their own

The longest-running combination of sports and snacks gets a rare update this season as Cracker Jill—a new package aimed to celebrate women in sports—joins Cracker Jack at MLB ballparks for the first time.

The candied popcorn-and-peanut snack comes in five new packages, each reflecting the most represented ethnicities in the U.S. and designed by artist and model Monica Ahanonu. Campaign materials for the launch were led by women and underrepresented creatives, led by Creative Director Ro Haber, the noted transgender writer and director. To promote the launch, the Frito-Lay -owned brand commissioned a new recording and video of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” performed by singer Normani.

Frito-Lay said its intention is to make Cracker Jill a part of the brand ethos going forward, sharing package fronts with Cracker Jack (and Bingo the dog, who appears with both Jack and Jill). Proceeds from direct-to-consumer sales—along with a $200,000 donation from Frito-Lay—will support the Women’s Sports Foundation, a non-profit that conducts research, advocacy and community programming to help women across the country reach their potential in sports and life.

Read more about Cracker Jill here.