• by Larissa Faw , January 6, 2020

Danone is attempting to differentiate its Oikos brand of Greek yogurk by avoiding the typical campaign that either features the brand founder a la Chobani or the happy homemaker “smile and bite” spot.  

The “Possibly the Best Yogurt in the World” creative, developed by VMLY&R, instead embraces comedy with the Greek God Ares, who supposedly has “quit” his job as the God of War to become the spokesman for Oikos. 

The campaign is shot in the loose-camera, docu-style akin to “The Office” by following Ares as he awkwardly attempts to promote the yogurt. Although coworkers are initially happy with his hiring, when Ares wants to champion Oikos with so-called war tactics, ads show these coworkers expressing their skepticism and viewing his methods as dated, inappropriate and unnecessary. 

Sample the work here. 

The campaign launches with 30- and 15-second “Meet Ares” TV spots, followed by additional spots in the coming weeks. The ad buy runs across national broadcast as well as online/social. 

In addition, the brand will roll out new packaging in early 2020.