Honeymaid: This is Wholesome
Honey Maid aimed to redefine "wholesome" for modern families, facing potential backlash for challenging traditional norms. The client sought a campaign to reinforce its inclusive brand values, resonate with a diverse audience, and demonstrate authenticity in a culturally relevant way, ultimately strengthening brand loyalty.
Creative Idea
Honey Maid transformed public comments about diverse families into a powerful message of love.
Honey Maid celebrated diverse families in an initial ad, then powerfully responded to public comments - both positive and negative - by using them to literally build a message of love and acceptance, reinforcing its wholesome brand image and demonstrating its commitment to inclusivity.
Turning Hate Into Love With Six Thousand Dollars
Real Families and Zero Testing
In a rare move for a corporate giant like Mondelēz International, the campaign was never market tested. Senior Marketing Director Gary Osifchin bypassed traditional focus groups to prevent "diluting" the authenticity of the real stories. The production, led by Academy Award winning documentary directors Dan Lindsay and TJ Martin, featured actual families rather than actors. This included The Gomez family, who were immigrants from the Dominican Republic, and The Glass family, featuring a disabled military veteran. By using Brainwash Films to capture genuine domestic life, the brand successfully transitioned a 90 year old "vanilla" product into a culturally relevant advocate.
The Six Thousand Dollar Viral Response
When the initial "This is Wholesome" spot faced a boycott from conservative groups, Droga5 and Weber Shandwick executed a masterclass in crisis management. They hired two artists to print out every hateful tweet and email, then physically rolled the paper into a sculpture that spelled the word "LOVE." Despite a production and promotion budget of only $6,000 in paid media, the response video became the most shared commercial in the world during its launch week, garnering 1.5 million views in its first 24 hours.
High Single Digit Sales Growth
The campaign proved that brand bravery drives the bottom line. Honey Maid sales jumped 7% within the first two months of the launch, with Google searches for the brand increasing by 400%. Beyond the screen, the 2016 Wholesome Button browser extension generated 116 million impressions, allowing users to replace negative internet headlines with heartwarming family imagery. The effort ultimately earned over 250 million earned media impressions, proving that inclusivity was a powerful engine for business growth.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
Honey Maid, as a wholesome family snack brand, could credibly champion inclusive definitions of family.
Category
The snack category often portrays idealized, traditional family settings, avoiding potentially divisive social topics.
Customer
Consumers increasingly seek brands that reflect modern societal values and take authentic stances on important issues.
Culture
A growing cultural conversation around family diversity and inclusivity made the brand's stance timely and relevant.
Company
Honey Maid, as a wholesome family snack brand, could credibly champion inclusive definitions of family.
Category
The snack category often portrays idealized, traditional family settings, avoiding potentially divisive social topics.
Strategy:
Leverage cultural tension around family definitions to reinforce brand values of inclusivity.
Customer
Consumers increasingly seek brands that reflect modern societal values and take authentic stances on important issues.
Culture
A growing cultural conversation around family diversity and inclusivity made the brand's stance timely and relevant.
Strategy:
Leverage cultural tension around family definitions to reinforce brand values of inclusivity.
Results
The campaign generated "Over ten times as many positive messages" as negative ones, ultimately proving that "only one thing really matters when it comes to family... Love."
Over 10x
positive messages received compared to negative
Strategy Technique
Take a Real Stand
Honey Maid bravely showcased diverse families, then doubled down by directly addressing public comments. This solidified its brand values and commitment to inclusivity.
Creative Technique
Turn Failure into Success
Honey Maid took the diverse public comments, including negative ones, about its initial ad on modern families. It transformed this feedback into a powerful visual message of love and acceptance.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
This campaign's craft is exceptional in its brilliant conceptualization and painstaking physical execution of an art installation that transforms digital negativity into a powerful, tangible symbol of love.
The conceptual brilliance of transforming transient social media comments, both positive and negative, into a monumental, meaningful physical art piece of 'Love' is outstanding.
The meticulous and large-scale physical construction of the intricate sculpture, involving thousands of individually rolled papers, demonstrates remarkable attention to detail and craftsmanship in bringing the vision to life.
The innovative use of digital social media data—actual online comments—as the raw material for a physical art installation showcases a clever and impactful fusion of digital engagement with tangible art.
The careful shaping and arrangement of the rolled paper tubes to form the legible and elegant typography of the word 'Love' within the sculptural medium is thoughtfully executed.
The campaign's strength lies in the synergy between its compelling creative concept, the meticulous physical execution of the art piece, and the intelligent use of digital interaction as the core material, all working together to deliver a powerful brand message.
