• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, September 9, 2024

Embargo until 9 am Monday 9/9

If you thought the marketing world had already reached peak-Kelce, get ready: Campbell’s Chunky Soup’s new ads star Jason Kelce in the firelight, sprawled on a bearskin rug and surrounded by candles as he talks about Chunky’s new spicy soups. Social media ads feature a vintage toll-free number, where he promises to keep that sexy soup talk going.

The campaign also includes Dexter Lawrence, defensive tackle for the Giants, adding an extra helping of beefcake, to further entice protein-craving young men. The comical campaign, from Leo Burnett, comes as the ready-to-serve soup category faces some challenges, with sales declining in Campbell’s most recent quarter.

Marketing Director Pete Herron tells Marketing Daily about the new campaign.

Interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Marketing Daily: Soup sales are down a bit, and your chief executive officer has attributed that to consumers looking to lower their grocery bills. What is your core customer thinking these days?

Pete Herron: Broadly, we’re seeing lots of pressure on the consumer and a focus on value. That's where we feel very advantaged on Chunky. As we head into this upcoming year, we see this more significant shift of consumers moving into food eaten at home. They are eating out less. Chunky is that soup that eats like a meal and offers a lot of protein and a good bellyful.

Marketing Daily: How about flavors? What are they craving?

Herron: As we look to innovate more, we're trying to bring more younger consumers into the soup aisle. And what millennials and Gen Z are looking for is bold flavor excitement. We launched our spicy platform a couple of years ago, starting with Spicy Chicken Noodle, and have been building momentum with younger consumers. We’re excited about our upcoming Nashville Style Hot Chicken Soup.

Marketing Daily: Who are your typical customers these days?

Herron: We try to appeal to all consumers, of course. But the spirit and tone we're going for with this is millennial male consumers, in particular. We have this partnership with the NFL, and we also work closely with our retailer partners as we think about bringing excitement to the soup aisle.

Marketing Daily: This leads us to Jason Kelce talking spice on a bearskin rug and Dexter Lawrence flexing his beefy arms.

Herron: Yes. This campaign is about bringing meaning and personality to those Chunky core product attributes, and we have a spicy ad drawing attention to an exciting flavor profile that differentiates us from competitors. Our ambition is to give younger consumers more of what they're looking for. And with the beefy spot starring Lawrence, we’re highlighting that we’ve got big hunks of meat and protein featuring our Chili Mac. That variety represents the Chunky ethos. It’s got beans, beef, mac and 21 grams of protein.

Marketing Daily: Jason Kelce is in so many commercials these days that I’ve lost count. Does that present any challenges?

Herron: We worked with the Kelce brothers last year, and obviously, that was a big, big year for them. Since Jason retired, he’s got this new podcast deal, a broadcast deal, and People named him one the sexiest men alive. And he’s funny. So yes, we wanted to bring that humor and engagement through. And he’s a wonderful partner because he represents that everyman.

Marketing Daily: What kind of engagement?

Herron: We created this vintage 1-855-HOT-SOUP sexy chat hotline, where you can call in and hear Jason describe our spicy soups in that old, “press one for spicy chicken noodle” way. And we’ve got more partnerships ahead with that same tone and humor.

Marketing Daily: You don’t worry about Kelce overload or overexposure?

Herron: One thing we wanted to do this year is create a level of symmetry between the players we select and our consumers. In addition to Kelce, we wanted to work with partners who are these elite underdogs or the elite everyman. Linemen are critically important in football, but they don’t get paid much. They don’t make headlines. They’re not as recognized or celebrated as quarterbacks. They’re like our consumer in that way. We chose Jason Kelce, who has had so much notoriety, as well as Lawrence, who's an up-and-coming star. He’s got such natural charisma and charm.

Marketing Daily: How else has your NFL-themed marketing changed over the years? It seems like you use fewer moms of players than you once did. Is the thinking that millennial men are less worried about what mom would serve them and hungrier for their own flavor adventures?

Herron: I believe our contract with the NFL goes back to 1998, making us the second-longest tenured brand. I’m told only Gatorade has been longer. We still think Mom is important, and we worked with Donna Kelce last year. But with this campaign, we wanted a different kind of breakthrough humor. That’s not to say moms aren’t funny – there have been years when we focused on the mama’s boy angle.

Marketing Daily: Chunky leads the market in ready-to-eat soup. What is your current share?

Herron: Chunky has a 30% share, and our total ready-to-serve business is about 46%. Our main competitor is Progresso. Private-label brands are a factor, but that’s less true than it is in the condensed soup and broth lines.

Marketing Daily: At this point, is there anything that surprises you about NFL tie-ins?

Herron: Just that there is such power in the partnership. It’s an obvious thing to say, but there is such cultural energy as the season kicks off every single year. It's the zeitgeist of kids going back to school, back to the routine. We see it in stores – football season creates this natural momentum for us. It's amazingly consistent.