• by Steve Ellwanger , March 17, 2023

Dole Packaged Foods wants people to “retrain their brain” when it comes to snack foods, to generate awareness and trial of its new Good Crunch dried fruit snacks.

Launched this week, Good Crunch pineapple, chili pineapple and banana bites are positioned as “an exciting alternative to traditional crunchy snacks like potato chips.”

In the brand’s first ad campaign, The Distillery Project agency used autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) to amplify the crunchiness of the snacks made with all natural, non-GMO fruits and sans artificial colors, colors, preserves or added sugar.

A tingling sensation that typically begins on the scalp and moves down the body, ASMR can provide “the subjective experience of ‘low-grade euphoria,’” according to Wikipedia.  

In this spot, a test subject is seated at a table containing two generic-looking bins—one marked “A Delicious Snack” and the other “A Healthy Snack.”

She is instructed to pick the one she wants most and chooses taste over nutrition.

But when she lifts both labels, it turns out that the two snacks are both Good Crunch, as a soft voiceover says “It’s so good it will retrain your brain.”

In a second commercial, a man who might appear to be eating a crunchy potato chip is actually sampling Good Crunch.

“We leaned into ASMR to prove ‘Good Crunch’ wasn't just a name but a promise,” The Distillery Project creative director Phil Jungmann tells Marketing Daily.

“We want people to see, hear and feel how satisfying this new snack really is. We brought the mic and the camera really close to our snack tasters to bring the crunch to life. Our hushed voiceover also allowed the sound to really come through.”