• by Steve Ellwanger , August 17, 2021

Having joined the debate last year over how the word GIF should be pronounced, Jif peanut butter is now taking on a lyrical battle between old- and new-school rap music.

It comes in the form of the “Lil Jif Project’’—the latest installment of “That Jif’ing Good” campaign for the venerable brand from The J.M. Smucker Co.

For those who haven’t been following the continual evolution of rap music, some critics have described contemporary rappers as sounding like they’re performing with a mouth filled with peanut butter.

So that’s exactly what veteran rapper and peanut butter lover Ludacris does in this new spot from Publicis New York. He’s encouraged by rapper Gunna, who represents new-school “flows” of hip hop delivery that are at the center of the industry debate.

Not that long ago, Jif was best known for being the first choice of “choosy moms.” By leveraging the GIF pronunciation debate, the brand sought to reposition itself to appeal to a wider audience, according to Publicis chief creative officer Erica Roberts.

“The whole idea was the great lengths people would go for Jif. It’s all about this epic absurdity,” Roberts tells Marketing Daily. “We finally had this tone of voice where it felt true to who we were becoming.”

The latest iteration is the result of “a lot of data and social listening to uncover what that next conversation about peanut butter was.”

Given the debate between old and new schools of rap—and the reference to singing with a mouthful of peanut butter—“we were like, OK, that’s just absurd,” says Roberts. “It sounds right to us.”

Last week, Ludacris dropped a new song titled “Butter.ATL” in partnership with Jif. 

On social platform TikTok, Jif and Ludacris are challenging people to “duet” a verse from “Butter.ATL” with a mouthful of peanut butter.

“For us it’s all about opening peoples’ minds and their mouths to the value of this new style and bridging this generational gap,” says Roberts.