Avocados From Mexico returns for fifth Super Bowl

Avocados From Mexico is returning to the Super Bowl for a fifth consecutive year, keeping its comedic and celebrity approach going while kicking off a campaign from its new agency. Plans include a 30-second spot in the second quarter. The new "always worth it" campaign is set to continue through 2019. Avocados From Mexico is now working with EnergyBBDO, which won the creative account earlier this year. The brand worked with GSD&M on its prior four Super Bowl spots and Arnold on other projects. Super Bowl Sunday is the biggest day for avocado consumption in America, according to Avocados From Mexico. In the four weeks leading up to the big game, the brand imports about 200 million pounds of avocados into the United States, says Alvaro Luque, president, Avocados From Mexico. "It's a nice combination of sales and brand building," Luque says of running a Super Bowl campaign. Some might say the brand doesn't need to advertise during the game each year since plenty of people are already chomping on chips and guac. And while people may have tired of seeing avocado toast on restaurant menus and filling up their Instagram feeds, there's no denying people are eating more avocados. In the last seven years, Avocados From Mexico has tripled the amount of fruit it brings into the U.S., Luque says. The strategy, which in previous years has involved teasing the Super Bowl ad in advance of the game, is not solely about getting people to stock up for the Bowl; the brand also wants to keep avocados top of mind well into the winter. "Before we were advertisers in the Super Bowl we had an issue because after the date, usually, the sales went down pretty fast," says Luque. "Now it's been a very, very good month for us in sales." With its prior Super Bowl spots, Avocados From Mexico advertised the fruit's year-round availability (2015's "First Draft Ever" and 2017's "Avocados In Space"), good fat (2016's "Secret Society"), and versatility (2018's "Guacworld"). The upcoming campaign is meant to roll those ideas together with the "always worth it" message. And yes, there's a bit of a price component to "worth it." The marketer's interviews with more than 3,000 people found diners willing to pay up to $2 to add avocado to restaurant meals, say, as a topping on a gourmet burger. Still, there's been some price relief. The average sales price was $1.24 per conventionally-grown avocado the week of Sept. 9, down from $1.56 a year earlier, according to the Hass Avocado Board, a group that promotes U.S. avocados. (Avocados From Mexico is the marketing arm of the Mexican Hass Avocado Importers Association.) Avocados From Mexico hasn't started shooting its Super Bowl spot but already tested five options from EnergyBBDO with consumers, which Luque says all scored as high as the brand's past Super Bowl spots. Whichever it picks, there are plans to have another celebrity appear, following Doug Flutie and Jerry Rice in 2015, Scott Baio in 2016, Jon Lovitz in 2017 and Chris Elliott in 2018. The brand declined to reveal who will appear in the upcoming ad. "We see ourselves as a fun brand and we want to be true to that," says Luque. Avocados From Mexico is also doing a shopper marketing program with AB InBev's Ritas flavored malt beverages and Tabasco sauce that includes joint merchandising displays, savings offers among the partner brands, as well as digital and social media ads. News of Avocados From Mexico's return to the Super Bowl follows reports of recent strikes at avocado orchards in the Mexican state of Michoacán after avocados from other parts of Mexico were said to be coming into the state, the only one with an agreement in place to export the produce to the U.S. The marketer says the vast majority of its regular supply is on its way to the U.S. as negotiations continue and that it doesn't send fruit from outside Michoacán. Other agencies on the campaign include Richards Lerma for digital, Havas on media and Ketchum on PR. Along with the TV exposure, Super Bowl Sunday has become a huge digital day for the brand. This year, Avocados From Mexico was the most mentioned advertiser on social media that day, according to data released in February by Salesforce Marketing Cloud, among other social media performance accolades it racked up.

Avocados From Mexico returns for fifth Super Bowl

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