• by P.J. Bednarski  @pjbtweet, May 5, 2021

Barefoot, the inexpensive wine from E & J Gallo Winery, launches its “Barefoot With Us” campaign starting Friday. It’s the brand’s first big product push since the pandemic.

And while many companies separate their brands’ various offshoots into separate commercials and campaigns -- for example, Diet Coke doesn’t share the spotlight with regular Coke -- Barefoot has a different idea.

This launch highlights all the various products with the same Barefoot With Us invitation and ad campaign, from the traditional wine and bubbly varietals to the hard seltzers, spritzers, and Fruitscato sweet wine.

It makes sense. In a wine business separated into two basic categories -- fun versus serious -- all the Barefoot offerings fit into one obvious slot.

A company spokesman says, “The campaign aims to reach all demographics and walks of life and wants to celebrate community and usher in new wine drinkers through the campaign.”

But, as seems evident from the mostly female actors in the ads, the target audience is certainly not drinking Barefoot before stumbling into a World Wrestling Federation event.

That's also clear from the TV show chosen for the campaign's debut: the third-season premiere of Hulu’s comedy “Shrill,” starring “Saturday Night Live” performer Aidy Bryant. Some critics have called "Shrill" a ground-breaking move toward TV body positivity, showing a heavier woman lead whose concerns go far beyond weight loss.

In the Barefoot spots, director (and well-known choreographer) Ezra Hurwitz has one couple dancing on a date while pouring Barefoot wine, two young women prancing in fancy frill  dresses while sipping Barefoot Bubbly as they prepare for a night out, and a small group of partiers staging  a surprise birthday bash complete with Barefoot hard seltzer. The spots were designed with partner FlyteVu, an entertainment marketing company known for its attention to diverse communities.

In three of the seven ads previewed for Marketing Daily, the overriding impact is the eye-catching color scheme, seemingly purposely designed to look like fake sets from the ‘60s or ‘70s, with costumes to match.

Hurwitz, asked by Marketing Daily to explain the thinking behind the super-colorful ads, responded in an email, “Leaning  into  the  vibrant  brand  colors  and  their  complementary  hues,  we  saturated   our  world  to hero  the  product  in  each  scene,  adding  a  spirited  whimsy  and liveliness to all seven scenarios that [are] still anchored in reality and not fantasy.”

More ads will roll out on Hulu and YouTube, and on other social media and cable TV through the summer. Barefoot is also trying out some out-of-home concepts in Los Angeles and Northwest Arkansas -- locales chosen because they’re totally unlike each other.