• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, December 12, 2017

A new branding campaign spanning products bearing the Kraft name features real parents and kids, in an emotional bid to show that the brand “supports today’s modern families.”

The campaign, “Family Greatly,” reassures anxious parents that they don’t have to be perfect, because they’re always great in their kids’ eyes. 

The advertising was created specifically for Kraft-branded products within the Kraft Heinz portfolio: Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, Kraft Natural Cheese, Kraft Singles, Kraft Mayo, Kraft Salad Dressing and Kraft BBQ Sauce. 

The campaign’s premise is based on a survey of U.S. parents and kids conducted in November for Kraft by Toluna. The research found that 84% of parents feel that they’re under too much pressure to be “perfect,” but four out of five kids say they’d rather have a “great” parent than a perfect one.

“Parents put a lot of pressure on themselves, believing there is a perfect, or right, way to family,” said Anne Field, director of brand building for Kraft. “The reality is there are a billion ways to #FamilyGreatly, and your way, if it's done with love and conviction, is the best way. When we first identified this insight, we knew it clearly spelled out what we believe as a brand.”

The creative, from Leo Burnett, launched today with a two-minute digital ad (below) capturing the emotional stress that parents feel, followed by their joy and relief when they hear their kids expressing heartfelt love and respect for them. 

Screen message: “To all the parents out there who are hard on themselves… Kraft wants you to know you don’t have to be perfect to be great… For over 100 years, what’s mattered to families, has mattered to Kraft.”

Along with the new advertising, the Kraft products’ package designs have been tweaked to achieve a more consistent look, which builds on Kraft’s signature blue color and introduces a blue dish graphic, reports Field. 

The individual Kraft products will continue to do their own marketing, but ad creative will incorporate the “Family Greatly” tagline, she confirms. In addition, Kraft “will build relevance and emotional connection by sharing our brand purpose with additional content like the digital video we just launched,” Field says. 

The umbrella campaign will also include television ads featuring real families. 

Kraft is encouraging families to share, using #FamilyGreatly, on @KraftBrand social channels (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram). Kraft Heinz employees will serve as “kick-off” social media managers, sharing their own feelings and insights with those who post on the channels, reports Kraft.

The overarching campaign also has a dedicated website.

The insight that parents don’t have to be perfect to have strong relationships with their kids was also behind this year’s Kraft Mac & Cheese “Make It Right” campaign (from Crispin, Porter + Bogusky), which launched with “parental fails”-themed ads in March and continued with “Swear Like a Mother” creative launched in May. 

Quite a few non-Kraft Heinz brands have also sought to reassure perfection-fixated parents in recent years’ advertising, going back to at least 2015, when a Plum Organics campaign encouraged parents to be “unfiltered” in sharing their challenges, as well as their joys.