• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, January 8, 2018

Oikos Triple Zero’s latest campaign, “Fuel Your Hustle,” features Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott talking about how the high-protein, zero fat, zero artificial sweeteners yogurt helps fuel his performance on and off the field. 

Dannon, the NFL’s official yogurt sponsor, dropped Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton as Oikos’s spokesperson in October, after Newton’s remark about finding it “funny” that a woman sports reporter had asked him about wide receiver routes was widely criticized as sexist.

The first new TV ad (below), launching today, shows Prescott eating Oikos at various moments at home, and includes footage of him playing with his two dogs (above), as well as more typical player-on-the-field footage. The creative is from the J. Walter Thompson, Wunderman and Geometry agencies, which Dannon has named “DanTeam US.”

The campaign also includes content from Prescott and Dannon on Oikos’s Instagram and Facebook channels.

Oikos sales grew by 22% in the 52 weeks ended Dec. 24, 2017, Jeffrey Rothman, vice president of marketing for Dannon, told Food Navigator.

Oikos is targeting active female as well as male millennials, who are looking for high-protein products with no added sugar or artificial sweeteners, he said. “We partnered with America’s most-watched sport to make Triple Zero more well known as a component of the average American daily eating or snacking routine — as despite its growth, the brand still only has 10% to 11% household penetration, so there’s a huge runway to increase awareness and usage,” Rothman stressed.

Rothman also reports that despite other light yogurt brands losing ground (including Yoplait’s light range), Dannon’s Light & Fit — its largest yogurt brand — is continuing to perform well. 

He says that Dannon, the leader in the yogurt category as a whole (all formats), continues to see the business grow, adding that “virtually all” of the category’s slowing growth of recent times is attributable to sales declines for General Mills’s yogurt products.