The Drum Awards for Marketing - Extended Deadline

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By Minda Smiley, Reporter

January 6, 2017 | 2 min read

About a year and a half ago, Panera announced its plans to banish artificial additives from its food by the end of 2016 – and its latest campaign serves to show consumers that the casual restaurant chain has successfully met its goal.

To kick off 2017, Panera has released a campaign to tout its “100% clean” food that the company says is free of artificial preservatives, sweeteners, flavors and colors from artificial sources.

Credit: Panera

In a spot created by Anomaly, footage of “mystery meat,” frozen microwaved meals and other unappetizing food shots appears onscreen while a voiceover drives home the point that we don’t always know what we’re putting into our bodies. The ad then concludes with imagery of Panera’s soups, salads and sandwiches while the voiceover explains that anyone can enjoy “delicious, clean food” at any of the chain’s locations. In an online video featuring Panera’s founder and CEO Ron Shaich, he discusses the brand’s commitment to making food that it is “proud to serve” to the 10 million people it serves every week.

The videos are part of Panera’s ongoing “Food as it should be” campaign, which launched shortly after the brand announced its commitment to removing “unacceptable ingredients” from its menu.

Chris Hollander, senior vice president and head of marketing at Panera, told The Drum that the campaign’s latest iteration is consistent with what the chain has “always set out to do, which is help guests feel confident in their choice.”

“This is an important milestone and it’s important to deliver this message,” he said. “That said, by no means are we done on our journey to be a catalyst for change in the food industry.”

Panera is just one of many food giants to make strides towards more natural offerings – in 2015 alone, Subway, General Mills, Nestle and Taco Bell all made similar pledges to eliminate artificial ingredients from their food.

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