Campbell Soup is moving away from a decade-old campaign for its Chunky soup brand that featured NFL players. In its place is a new campaign touting a reformulated product intended to be better tasting and healthier. While one cannot argue with the success of the NFL-themed campaign and the impact on sales, the time was right to reposition the brand in conjunction with the product makeover.
The weaknesses of the NFL campaign was that it missed a key group in the decision making process for meals: women. The everyman campaign should overcome that weakness. Also, older male audiences (35+) were more difficult to reach with the NFL campaign. The focus on the everyman seems to fit the current economic and cultural climate. The NFL campaign was great, but like the greatest gridiron stars retirement is inevitable. Sure, there is risk involved, but there is also risk involved in allowing a brand to stagnate.
Marketing Daily – “Campbell Position Shifts to ‘Healthy Everyman'”