My Food Bag has launched a brand new marketing campaign with Saatchi & Saatchi, and this time Nadia Lim isn’t at the helm, but a brussels sprout.
The campaign highlights the importance of quality time spent around the dinner table and introduces a new character: Russell the Brussels Sprout. In the spot, Russell – who fell off a plate and has taken up residence on a ledge underneath the dinner table – tells us about how the family he lives with used to be despondent around dinner time, eating plain food and barely talking while they ate in front of the television.
Since starting My Food Bag, Russell tells us dinner has taken a more energetic turn. With the family enjoying fresh, tasty meals together around the table, sharing stories and laughing – or not laughing – at the terrible Dad jokes. By the end of the spot, Russell’s frown gets turned upside down as well, when he is joined by Pam, a discarded yam.
‘Families Make Dinner, Dinner Makes Families’ was created by Saatchi & Saatchi and launched this month. A minute-long spot featuring Russell first appeared in cinemas on 12 July, while the TVC went live 30 July. Shorter, 30-second versions will be rolled out in the coming weeks, along with supporting online and digital content.
My Food Bag chief marketing officer Lou Cunningham says the new campaign reflects the company’s purpose of delivering nutritious, fresh meals to families.
“Dinner provides more than just fuel – we laugh, solve problems, take time out of busy lives to actually talk. There’s plenty of research to suggest friends and families making meals and eating together will help create an even better New Zealand.”
Saatchi & Saatchi chief commercial officer Toby Talbot says the new campaign reflects the fact that a large number of Kiwis have learnt the importance of a family dinner from using My Food Bag.
“[Dinner is] valuable time spent together. So we have created a new ‘spokeveggie’ to join Nadia. Someone with a unique perspective on family life. Not everyone loves brussels sprouts, but we think they’ll make an exception with this guy.”
The new campaign also includes an interactive digital storybook for children which will be included in My Food Bag deliveries. Each week an AR-enabled sticker releases a new chapter of audio that takes Russell and his friends on their adventures.
Saatchi & Saatchi first picked up the My Food Bag creative account in 2016, at a time when the Kiwi-born food retailer serviced 17 cities across New Zealand and Australia and held more than 30,000 customers. My Food Bag now delivers more than 16 million meals to Kiwi families each year and as of this month is able to deliver to 87 percent of all New Zealand households.
Saatchi & Saatchi managing director Paul Wilson says the latest campaign is the biggest piece of work the agency has done for My Food Bag.
“We’ve had a really close working relationship [with My Food Bag]where we collaborate and work through our approach together. The end result [of this campaign]speaks volumes about the level of trust and creative passion that there is between both parties.”
A recent survey by independent researcher Sarah Woollett, commissioned by My Food Bag and The Sunday Start Times, found that 79 percent of children wished they had dinner as a family more often. That finding placed the new-look campaign firmly around the dinner table.
Wilson says while the new campaign may look like a new direction, it’s actually a continuation of the heart of My Food Bag’s values.
“Their purpose of creating healthier communities in New Zealand has always been the backbone of who they are. We’re just talking about it.”
Credits:
Client: My Food Bag New Zealand
Chief Marketing Officer: Louise Cunningham
Marketing Manager: Sarah Moller
Creative Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand
Production Company: Assembly
Director: Damon Duncan
Producer: Helen Naulls
Music: Liquid Studio
Composer: Peter van der Fluit
Producer: Tamara O’Neill
Animation: Assembly
Media Agency: Zenith Optimedia New Zealand