• by Steve Ellwanger , August 5, 2021

The first national advertising campaign for nine-year-old Simple Mills targets health-conscious consumers to promote the company’s gluten-free, “nutrient-dense” snacks and baking products.

Simple Mills markets crackers, cookies, baking mixes, snack bars and pancakes—which it describes as “Nutritious snacks that never slow you down.”

That’s the tagline in this commercial from the New York-based FIG agency. The 30-second spot depicts a range of people executing such daily routines as getting ready for work, gardening and working on a home-improvement project -- all while munching on various Simple Mills snacks.

“What we found is that our group of consumers get this proud, confident feeling of strength when they’re getting things done,” Simple Mills senior brand manager Jamie Rubinstein tells Marketing Daily. “It’s not just getting things done to check things off their to-do list. It’s really about getting things done that they want to get done.”

A major point of differentiation for Simple Mills is ingredients.

“We focus on having the first ingredient of every product that we make be nutrient-dense. What that means to us is providing nutrient value to your diet in a way that a lot of ingredients—especially the typical gluten-free ingredients—don’t do,” Rubinstein adds.

The campaign is targeting a wide audience.

“We focus on health-conscious individuals who even sometimes buy natural and organic products. We are a growing brand and we want to make sure we are appealing to lots of different consumer groups.”

Simple Mills is using audience-based targeting on Hulu, along with audio ads on Spotify and social exposure on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. The brand also is executing custom content partnerships with Well+Good and Good Housekeeping.

The Chicago-based company was founded in 2012 by its CEO, entrepreneur Katlin Smith. While living in Atlanta, she achieved initial product placement at Whole Foods stores.

The company’s 30+ SKU’s now have distribution in more than 25,000 retail stores—including Kroger, Sprouts Farmers Market, Target, Walmart and Whole Foods.