• by Steve Ellwanger , January 23, 2020

In taking to television for the first time, Premier Protein highlights personal progress as opposed to the before-and-after imagery that often accompanies health and wellness brand campaigns.

Ads for the marketer of premade protein shakes follow three women and one man as they discover the Premier brand and share the challenges of their individual journeys to better nutrition habits.

In one spot, mother of six Charmaine explains her chaotic lifestyle. “I’m a mom 24/7. You get tired and burnt out from that. I couldn’t keep up anymore.”

The campaign is the work of Pittsburgh-based Smith Brothers Agency. “We want to show reality. So we are focusing on progress over perfection, with fans who have real struggles and active, busy lives,” the agency’s co-chief creative officer, Lindsey Smith, said in a statement.

TV ads will appear on “Good Morning America” and other programs, as well as online video, connected TV and pre-rolls on YouTube, as well as paid social placements, including Instagram Stories and Facebook.

Another element of the Premier campaign is a brand content and contest partnership with registered dietician Annessa Chumbley and fitness expert Gina DiNapoli. From Feb.1 to March 1, people who share a photo of their own “health journey” and tag Premier on Instagram earn the chance to win a one-night stay in New York City for a private workout with DiNapoli and an individualized nutrition consultation with Chumbley.

The campaign comes two months after Post Holdings spun off its Active Nutrition unit—now BellRing Brands—in which Post retains 71% ownership. Active Nutrition had been created largely by the acquisitions of “convenient nutrition” brands Premier Protein, Dymatize and PowerBar.

Until now, Premier, which constitutes 80% of BellRing’s net sales, has grown largely by word of mouth, BellRing president and CEO Darcy Davenport explained in the company’s first investor conference call in November. At the time, Premier had household penetration of just 5%.

“The brand has never been a heavily advertised brand. And so, we believe that when we increase our spend, even if it is in the single digits, we will get more bang for our buck because of the passionate group of followers that will then take that and basically kind of extend our dollars, so to speak,” Davenport said.