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Jif and Smucker’s bring irreverent campaigns to heritage CPG brands

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By Kyle O'Brien, Creative Works Editor

August 14, 2019 | 3 min read

Jif and Smucker’s, two heritage CPG brands from the JM Smucker Company, are both taking quirky routes to try and win consumers over. Peanut butter brand Jif has been inspired by the sci-fi genre, while fruit spread brand Smucker’s is having fun with Mother Nature.

Jif Squirrel

Jif's 'Squirrel' ad

The ‘That Jif’ing Good’ campaign shows just how far people could go for the taste of its peanut butter.

The first commercial, ‘Bunker’, shows a woman running from an alien invasion. She races towards a bunker where other survivors are holed up, outrunning the War of the Worlds-like alien craft, but when she gets there, she sees that their emergency stockpile of peanut butter is generic.

Not content to stay safe without her coveted Jif, she bolts to an abandoned store where she revels in a spoonful.

In ‘Squirrel’, a woman is sitting on a park bench making a peanut butter sandwich with Jif. She throws a morsel to a gathering band of squirrels. As the squirrel gang reaches ridiculous proportions, a man in a squirrel mask shows up, begging for “Jif, Jif” in his best squirrel-speak.

Smucker’s shows that ‘Father Nature’ is a regular dad trying to feed his daughter healthy and flavorful treats.

In ‘Kitchen’, the daughter, sitting in a verdant kitchen where creatures roam freely, asks her father for a snack. He rummages through the refrigerator until a seal, assumingly cooling off in the icebox, nudges a jar of Smucker’s Natural Strawberry fruit spread towards him.

Mother Nature, who is “at work”, shows her presence by snowing in approval.

‘List’ shows Father Nature shopping with his daughter, assigning birds to get his goods from the aisles. When he almost accidentally chooses a generic strawberry jam, Mother Nature chimes in by downing a light pole outside with lightning and crashes it into a parked car. Father quickly rights himself with a Smucker’s Natural jar.

The campaigns are the first creative work from Publicis Groupe’s Power of One team, which includes Publicis New York, Zenith, MSL, Digitas and Moxie.

Erica Roberts, executive creative director, Publicis New York, stated: “We all talk to our clients about bravery, but when it’s decision time – particularly on big, iconic brands – most marketers default to what they know…The JM Smucker Company’s willingness to push well out of their comfort zone was inspiring."

See the spots by clicking on the Creative Works box below.

JM Smucker Company: That Jif’ing Good and Father Nature by Publicis

By JM Smucker Company

Overall Rating 4/5

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