• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, August 16, 2018

Dole Fruit Bowls is flipping from benefits-oriented to emotional and nostalgic with its new campaign, from the RPA agency. 

The brand’s previous TV campaign -- “Drain it or Drink It,” from Dailey & Associates -- was seemingly ubiquitous between 2015 and 2017.

Those spots drove home the brand’s “packed in 100% fruit juice” benefit/differentiator by showing Dole Fruit Bowl consumers drinking the liquid in their products, while friends eating other-brand fruit bowls felt compelled to drain out syrupy or watery liquids before eating the fruit. (The spots also included 2016’s “Mixed Doubles” and 2017’s “Aquarium.”) 

The first TV ad in the new campaign, “Traditions” (30-second version below), shows a mom writing loving and encouraging notes on the lids of her daughter’s fruit bowls at various stages of the girl’s childhood and teen years. A final vignette shows the daughter, now grown up, in turn using a fruit-bowl lid message to announce some good news to her mother. 

The spot is backed only by quiet guitar music, except for a female voiceover and on-screen title at the end, over a product shot stating: “Sharing sunshine for generations. Pass it on.” 

The new creative also marks a shift to a family vibe, while the previous campaign focused on conversations between young adults.

“This campaign will stand out with its heartfelt reminder to parents to give a little extra love with their kids’ snacks,” said Stan Stuka, senior marketing director, Dole Packaged Foods. 

The creative underscores people’s trust in the brand’s quality and the nostalgia for childhood that the fruit bowls evoke in adults, added RPA Executive Vice President, Chief Creative Officer Joe Baratelli. 

The ad will air on Food Network, Freeform, HGTV, TNT, USA and other cable and network channels.