• by Danielle Oster , July 16, 2024

Flavored still water brand Hint is launching an appeal to summer sippers that marks the brand's first new campaign in over two years.

Hint partnered with agency Common Good on the effort, centered around a message of getting consumers to “Break Sugar’s Spell” and turn to Hint for a healthier alternative to beverages sweetened with the substance.

A live-action hero ad for “Break Sugar’s Spell” features a young spokesperson delivering the message in a tone designed to evoke both old-school TV host credibility and stand-up comedian attitude.

The spot is just one entry in the campaign, which features other live-action ads, as well as a series of animated spots anthropomorphizing “sweet” beverage characters that quickly turn sinister.

The multichannel campaign will run across CTV, paid social, and retail marketing channels. An initial batch of animated ads launched last month across CTV, Meta, and TikTok, and the live-action spots are rolling out over the course of the next two weeks.

“‘Break Sugar’s Spell’ forces us to reexamine our relationship to sugar, diet sweeteners and other additives. The more sugar and sweeteners you consume, the more you want,” Hint CMO Amy Calhoun Robb said in a press release. “Hint is shining a light on this subversively sinister brainwashing—executed in a fun, engaging way to help people live a healthier lifestyle in the most simple way, by falling in love with water again.”

Calhoun Robb told Marketing Daily the campaign marks an evolution in the brand’s marketing strategy built around that consumer insight, with a more holistic approach bringing together digital and brand marketing as it attempts to broaden its reach with younger generations. “Hint will continue to build on this approach with an increased focus on video, social, and influencer activities,” she added.

Additional social components delve into more nuance about the brand’s benefits as an alternative to sugary competitors to “further demonstrate how sugar is infiltrating our beverages and how Hint is the answer to break sugar’s spell,” Kelsey Alexander, media director at Common Good told Marketing Daily.

“Social's role is to complement the CTV by showing up in high reach placements, capturing the attention of users when they're engaged and scrolling. On TikTok, we reserved newly available high-reach tactics, allowing Hint to show up in premium placements and break through

 the clutter of users’ feeds,” Alexander said, explaining the strategy was derived from an analysis of Hint’s business and consumer base.

“The summer brings an opportunity to reach consumers when they are buying thirst quenching drinks and an advertising surge in this time period enables Hint to speak to consumers at the right time and place,” Alexander added. “Hint’s appeal is broad, attracting many fans, but our focus is on reaching individuals with a younger mindset who prioritize healthier choices.”

The “Break Sugar’s Spell” campaign also includes a promotional giveaway, giving entrants an opportunity to be one of 15 winners awarded a year’s supply of Hint and a retro refrigerator, as well as daily prizes.

In addition to being Hint’s first brand campaign in over years, it’s also the first under its new marketing leader. A veteran of Diageo and Hello Products, Calhoun Robb joined Hint from Hero Cosmetics as CMO earlier this year -- replacing Terrence Sweeney after around five years in the role. Hint appears to be actively investing in its marketing shift to focus more on reaching younger audiences online, and is currently seeking to fill influencer marketing manager and brand director, innovation positions, a search Calhoun Robb has promoted on LinkedIn.