• by Steve Ellwanger , July 20, 2022

When kids aren’t doing homework or other structured activities, they should be laughing at a seat cushion that hates “stupid butts” or two playful clouds that accidentally trash the sun.

That’s the concept behind “Break Free TV,” a five-part video series on YouTube from the Kraft Heinz grab-and-go beverage brand Capri Sun.

There are two basic goals of the campaign targeted to kids 6-12 and their parents, according to Kraft Heinz associate director Samantha Mills.

“One is trying to better understand what’s going on in their lives, needs and wants,” Mills tells Marketing Daily. “Two is looking at where the brand shows up in their lives and the role we can continue to play in driving more value for them.”

Based on a Gallup study showing that young kids have 2.7 hours of homework and 5.3 hours of structured activities scheduled each week, the series is the work of Goodby Silverstein & Partners and the London-based animation studio Blinkink.

Each of the five episodes kicks off with a kid getting sucked head-first into a new world via the iconic Capri Sun yellow straw.

In this spot, a girl on a couch rests against a pillow while sipping a Capri Sun. When she walks away, the pillow strains to catch a breath and finally says “stupid butts!”

On the floor below, a rug exclaims “You think you got it bad” as a dog drags its butt on it.

In a commercial titled “Oops!” two clouds toss a happy sun back and forth—until one cloud grabs a Capri Sun and then misses the sun, which plummets downward as the sky goes dark.

Although parents typically monitor video content their kids are watching, the series isn’t aimed at motivating household-purchase decision makers to purchase Capri Sun.

“That’s more of a happy accident or consequence of the viewing behavior more so than an objective in what we’re trying to accomplish. We really are not worried about speaking to parents with this campaign,” says Mills.

Other aspects include an integration with Amazon’s Alexa and one with the gaming platform Roblox involving a game “that brings to life the world of our naughty clouds playing with the sun.”

Looking ahead, Mills foresees activations where the brand will “invite kids to co-create with us and be partners with us in bringing this world to life in additional ways.”