• by Danielle Oster , June 10, 2024

For the next wave of its brand refresh, Ocean Spray is introducing a new tagline, and a new character.

The brand is launching a “Just Add Cran” masterbrand campaign introducing the titular tagline across three ads promoting Ocean Spray’s new Zero Sugar Cranberry Juice Drink, as well as Craisins dried cranberries, and the brand’s line of cranberry-focused juice blends.

While something of a new chapter for the brand, the campaign also takes a page out of its marketing past and introduces a new farmer-inspired character in the ads named Johnny, who acts as a “straight-shooter cousin of the two beloved farmers featured in Ocean Spray ads from 2008 to 2018,” according to the brand.

“Through the introduction of Johnny, we are continuing to hero our co-op owners, who are the heart of our business, while introducing a new icon for the next generation,” Ocean Spray Chief Commercial Officer Monisha Dabek said in a statement.

There’s another shakeup to the creative approach, as well. While Ocean Spray’s advertising has historically focused on transporting viewers to its flooded cranberry bogs, “Just Add Cran” flips the script, bringing the bog to the outside world. In the series of ads, the new character, Johnny, shows up in everyday settings wading in cranberries up to the waist. The ads conclude with the new “Just Add Cran” tagline, serving as a call to action to try adding cranberry to everyday situations.

The campaign’s initial trio of ads -- "Conference,” “Dating” and “Lunch” -- debut on June 10, airing across streaming platforms through August 4, with support from online video, display banners, and social media elements. Future campaign elements will launch across “all platforms,” including social media and in-store elements.

“Just Add Cran” represents the next wave of a brand refresh for Ocean Spray. Back in February, the brand rolled out a new visual identity including updated logo, typography, photography and packaging.

The new look was introduced as part of a larger brand refresh strategy aimed at positioning Ocean Spray as “wildly uncommon.” That phrase is intended to evoke both the unusual nature of cranberries themselves -- the distinctly tart fruits are larger than their leaves, among a number of features making them distinct from their botanical cousins -- as well as Ocean Spray’s relatively uncommon status as a farmer-owned co-op.