• by Larissa Faw , January 5, 2017

Adland’s iconic big green man is back. B&G Foods and its agency Deutsch New York have dusted off and made over The Jolly Green Giant for new commercials that debuted this week.

The new campaign has been a year in the making — Deutsch won the Green Giant brand account last January.

The JGG character/spokesman appears in two spots to support Green Giant’s new product offerings, including Veggie Tots, Riced Veggies, Mashed Cauliflower and Roasted Vegetables, and to show America how to swap more vegetables into a family diet and eat healthier.

The Snow Angel spot, for instance, features the CGI character creating an avalanche that impacts his regular-sized friend when playing in the snow.

The What Did He Learn ad welcomes the big guy back by stating things that he learned while he was away including that those "jump squats really paid off."  JGF has been around since 1925 but is returning in his latest iteration after a hiatus of several years.

His return first kicked off with a teaser video that aired in movie theaters in September. Now, TV spots are running on Bravo, Cooking Channel, E!, Lifetime, HGTV, VH1, Nick at Nite, and the Food Network, among others.

In addition, Green Giant is introducing new product messaging within "health-centric books" to inspire readers to "swap out their holiday carbs with exciting vegetable options," according to the company. The media buy includes Martha Stewart Living, Cooking Light, Rachael Ray and Shape. Epicurean titles, including Food Network Magazine, Martha Stewart Living, Cooking Light, Real Simple, and Delish. 

The digital strategy will optimize toward key consumers, including millennial moms and moms over age 40, by leveraging its partner’s ability – like Meredith and Conde Nast Epicurean properties - to build out high-impact units that can incorporate relevant recipe content, drive product usage and use new assets. Plus, Green Giant will continue to work with some of its strongest performing partners in 2016, including YouTube and Viant. 

The Green Giant became one of the most recognizable brand mascots under Leo Burnett during the 1950s and 60s. When B&G Foods purchased the Green Giant brand from General Mills in late 2015, General Mills and its agency partner Saatchi had not been doing any advertising for the brand.  

 “I grew up with the Jolly Green Giant and having the opportunity to reintroduce such an iconic advertising figure has been a thrill," says Dan Kelleher, CCO, Deutsch New York. "It’s the Giant we all know and love, but now in more modern, fun scenarios.”

B&G Foods spent between $32 million-$36 million on advertising in 2016, according to B&G Food's most recent financials. "It's really about just making sure we get the consumer back to the franchise, and we believe we can do that through marketing this brand at a much higher level than it's been done," said B&G Food's Robert Cantwell during a recent call with analysts. "As we grow sales, we plan on putting more money back into it, above and beyond what we spent this year. But in addition, it's going to be more directed to consumer marketing."