Califia Farms milks first-ever national TV spot with joyful musical number
Plant-based food and beverage brand Califia Farms has unveiled its first-ever national TV ad – a cheery musical homage to the many varieties of milk alternatives and their tastebud-titillating applications. The brand marketing initiative could help generate a valuable sales lift for the independently-owned brand.
Popular plant-based milk substitute brand Califia Farms has debuted its first-ever national TV ad campaign today with ‘Calilujah!’, a high-energy musical spot created by ad agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners (GS&P). It is GS&P’s first project for the brand.
“Plant milks are everywhere that you look, but no one knows whether they should stick with almond milk, or try oat milk or what goes best with each. Our goal is to show the joy that comes from feeding your curiosity and experimenting with our variety of plant milks to find what you enjoy best,” Califia Farms chief marketer Suzanne Ginestro tells The Drum.
Directed by duo Augustus Punch, whose members are both Baz Luhrmann protegees, the spot is a colorful and energetic Broadway musical-style celebration of Califia Farms’s plant-based milks. In the 30-second spot, viewers are taken through a sensory tour of the brand’s many non-dairy offerings. Dancers dressed like cookies shake their hips, suspender-clad baristas dash across the screen with oat milk cartons in hand and one actor sports a larger-than-life headdress embellished with the brand’s signature curvaceous bottles. “It can be coconut smoothies, almond milk and cookies, let us take you to nirvana with the oat milk of your dreams,” belts the lead voice.
“The plant milk industry takes itself so seriously, so we wanted to bring ‘Calilujah!’ to life in a fun and unpretentious way that felt joyful and fresh,” says Kurt Mills, associate creative director at GS&P.
The spot is the product of six weeks of research and strategy development undertaken in GS&P’s Brand Camp.
To bring the ad to life, Califia Farms and GS&P employed a team of well-accredited creatives, including The Greatest Showman choreographer Jenny Griffin and music and production firm Squeak E. Clean Studios, which composed the original number. Alongside Califia Farms, Squeak E. Clean counts Netflix, Kellogg’s, Trident and Mountain Dew among its clients.
The campaign, which will be launched globally on TV, digital and social channels, could help advance Califia Farms’s growth. Founded in 2010, the independently-owned Los Angeles-based company closed a major Series D funding round in early 2020, raising some $225m in capital.
