Baby Carrots: EAT 'EM LIKE JUNK FOOD

Credits & Description:

Category: Best Use of Integrated Media

Advertiser: BOLTHOUSE FARMS

Product/Service: BOLTHOUSE FARMS

Agency: CRISPIN PORTER + BOGUSKY

Date of First Appearance: Sep 4 2010

Entrant Company: CRISPIN PORTER + BOGUSKY, Boulder, USA

Entry URL: http://www.babycarrots.com

Chief Creative Officers: Rob Reilly/Andrew Keller/Jeff Benjamin (CP+B)

Group Creative Director: Tiffany Rolfe (CP+B)

Creative Director: Omid Farhang (CP+B)

Associate Creative Directors: Andy Pearson/Tim Blount (CP+B)

Art Directors: Liz Levy/Meghan DeRoma/Bekah Sirrine/Todd Grinham (CP+B)

Copywriters: Marc D'Avignon/Andrew McMurchie/Katy Graham (CP+B)

Group Executive Producer: Paul Sutton (CP+B)

Senior Integrated Producers: Kate Hildebrant/Jesse Jones (CP+B)

Outeractive Producer: Andrew Barnett (CP+B)

Junior Outeractive Producer: Daniel Coleman (CP+B)

Managing Director of Interactive: Winston Binch (CP+B)

Executive Creative Technology Director: Scott Prindle (CP+B)

Associate Technical Director: Dan Fox (CP+B)

Executive Experience Director: Matt Walsh (CP+B)

Graphic Designers: Greta Ackerman/Aryanti Ingenillem (CP+B)

Programmers: Tom Pearson/Mark DeVries/Jason Schertz/Sam Brenner/Jimmy Pino/Camilo Silva/Mike (CP+B)

Print Producer: Robert Hannau (CP+B)

Director, Message Planning & Analytics: Bryant King (CP+B)

Group Media Directors: Todd Alchin/Lauren Barger (CP+B)

Media Supervisor: Becky Pangman (CP+B)

Media placement: Digital - BabyCarrots.com - 1 September 2010

Media placement: Mobile - iPhone application - 6 September 2010

Media placement: Vending Machines - High Schools - 17 September 2010

Media placement: Traditional OOH - Billboards/Transit Shelters - 30 August 2010

Media placement: Design/Packaging - In-Store - 1 September 2010

Media placement: In-Store Signage - In-Store - 1 September 2010

Media placement: TV campaign- 3 spots - local tv - 17 September 2010

Media placement: Web Films campaign- 10 spots - BabyCarrots.com - 1 September 2010



Insights, Strategy & the Idea

When you think “exciting snack,” baby carrots don’t come to mind. Like most veggies, they lay forsaken in the crisper drawer to die a slow death. Of course, junk food doesn’t have this problem. So what will it take for baby carrots to get out of the bottom drawer and become a sexy, top-of-mind snack alongside the heavy hitters of junk food? Maybe it’s time to stop wasting our breath reminding people that vegetables are healthy, and start taking on the snack establishment at their game – with some junk food marketing of our own. The “Eat ‘em like junk food” campaign satires infamous junk food marketing to disrupt America’s predictable discourse on healthy snacking.



Creative Execution

The campaign ran in two test markets, launched in-store with three new baby carrot packages that overtly mocked junk food — extreme, futuristic and chic. Each new package was accompanied by its own television spot. The television strategy was comprised of 100% primetime, with a focus on highly rated and culturally relevant programming. This directly targeted our savvy snacker demographic, as well as playfully confrontational outdoor billboards, social media that called out our junk food peers, and customized baby carrot vending machines that lived alongside conventional vending machines. The campaign also featured the world’s first carrot-crunch-powered video game, “Xtreme Xrunch Kart,” available as a free mobile download at the iTunes store. This content and more can be found at the campaign’s creative hub — babycarrots.com.



Results and Effectiveness

Despite running for just one month in two test markets to date, the $450,000 “Eat ‘em like junk food” campaign has garnered nearly 63 million PR impressions across the world, valued at over $15 million. It’s been covered by networks and publications including NBC, Fox News, CNN, Huffington Post, Associated Press, USA Today, Washington Post and New York Times. Xtreme Xrunch Kart has also been downloaded and played in more than 75 different countries worldwide. And since the point was to sell carrots, baby carrot sales lifted by 12 percent in our test markets.