Launched at the start of September to leverage spiking football interest around the start of the new season, NFL partner Campbell’s Chunky teamed up with Los Angeles Rams Head Coach Sean McVay for a campaign highlighting the importance of taking lunch breaks.
Leveraging its status as the league’s official soup, the campaign is called ‘Lunchtime Is Your Halftime’ and is led by a pair of spots featuring McVay coaching millennial-aged men on the benefits of eating a nutritious lunch to prepare properly for the second half (of the day).
The commercials, which debuted on-air on 9 September during the NFL season opener, will run on national television and online through the season supported by clips and stills amplified via linear TV, digital streaming, social media and other digital platforms such as Twitch.
The creative, developed with agency Leo Burnett US, draws on football themes in order to spur a demographic segment which has largely shunned lunchtime as a regular habit
The choice of working with McVay reflects both his reputation for inspirational halftime speeches and his age – he is one of the youngest ever NFL head coaches and is a millennial himself.
One spot sees McVay drive a golf cart and interrupt millennial men on their lunch breaks and then show the kind of behaviour and intensity as he would during a football game’s halftime to communicate a message about refuelling and being properly nourished for the second half (of the day).
Coach McVay is here with a very important play call. #LunchtimeHalftime@CampbellsChunky x @NFL pic.twitter.com/qEOQ9lCqmd
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) September 10, 2021
New @NFL season, new creative campaign from the @CampbellsChunky team! #LunchtimeHalftime https://t.co/PzU8LeSbj9
— Campbell Soup Co (@CampbellSoupCo) September 9, 2021
Working with McVay, this is the first time the coach has fronted any Campbell’s Chunky marketing, signals something of a shift in the soup brand’s engagement strategy. The brand’s previous NFL activations have used players to promote Campbell’s products such as its 2016 ‘All-Star Everyman Endorser’ campaign.
But the brand believes that McVay represents a more ‘everyday’ millennial man: potentially driving interest from consumers by being relatable.
Indeed, McVay’s young age and lack of experience have sometimes been seen as a concern in his high profile role: an obstacle many millennial men may find pertinent to their own professional lives.
“Today’s ‘Do-It-All-Guy’ is continuously evolving – he has a growing appetite to do more, and be more, and ultimately needs food that works as hard as he does,” said Campbell Soup Company’s VP of Marketing (Soup & Broth) Mark Tumelty.
Comment:
This campaign is part of Campbell’s Chunky’s objective to inspire busy millennials to take lunch breaks and leverages its sponsorship of the NFL which dates back to 1997.
The campaign follows on from a Tork 2019 study showing that millennial workers often see lunch as an obstacle to productivity with 37% saying that they regularly feel unempowered to take a lunch break.
Indeed, these habits conflict with a generational desire for a longer and more regular lunch break – also found in the study – which Campbell’s Chunky is championing through its marketing.
The switch in ambassador and in media demonstrates how the brand is focusing on young adult consumers and understands that they are increasingly fragmented across digital channels.
Other previous notable Campbell’s NFL marketing has included teaming up with retail giant Target in 2020 to sponsor a Madden NFL competition on Twitch.
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