• by Erik Oster , February 21, 2024

Gerber has a long history of providing complimentary advice to struggling parents, dating back to 1938. Realizing not many parents are aware of the company’s 24/7 “MyGerber Experts” providing help and advice to parents, Gerber decided the time was right to feature the service in its advertising.

The 15-second ad showing the MyGerber Experts service is part of a much larger effort to revitalize the brand for a new generation of parents, which kicks off with a “Decisions” campaign created in collaboration with agency Ogilvy. “Decisions” also introduces a new “We Speak Parents” brand platform for the brand, as well as a new “Grow With Love” tagline.

The refreshed brand platform is designed to re-introduce the Nestlé-owned brand to a new generation of parents, positioning Gerber as a solution to their parenting woes beyond a simple product pitch.

“There’s so much parents have to deal with today, all these decisions they have to make,” Ogilvy New York creative director Pia Tamm told Marketing Daily. She saidthe approach tested well with parents who “felt seen,” and that it took some of the pressure off of them by “showing there is community.”

“It’s a big shift in how we explore storytelling for the brand. For 30 years, they had a message around sharing parents’ vision of growing healthy babies,” Ogilvy group creative director Andrea Messer explained. ”We wanted to take it in a new direction with ‘Decisions,’ and show [parents] the brand is with you throughout that, and the solution.”

She added, “It’s almost like the brand is a character in the story of parent and child. That intimacy had to be felt."  The ad required focusing on details to ensure audiences felt the tension that comes with parenting, to ensure the brand’s positioning as a solution providing relief hit home, she said.

“That's where ‘Grow With Love’ as a line felt so good,” she noted, since it communicates how the challenges and rewards of parenting are intertwined,

The pivot meant reflecting realities the brand -- and category more broadly -- has traditionally shied away from, including an aversion to showing what is perhaps babies’ most common behavior offscreen.

“I don't think Gerber had a baby crying in any of their spots [previously],” Messer said.

It’s the type of change that was required to reach the millennial audience. “They embrace this idea of authenticity not just in parenting, but all areas of their lives -- the brand recognized that,”  Messer said. Strengthening Gerber's connection to millennial parents meant adapting to how the generation approached its relationships to brands.