• by Sarah Mahoney , 8 hours ago

Mondelez International is giving Ritz a new shape — and another Super Bowl spotlight. The company plans a 30-second spot from the Martin Agency, marking the cracker brand’s second appearance in advertising’s most expensive real estate. The campaign also introduces limited-edition football-shaped Ritz crackers, set to reach store shelves next month.

Last year’s spot debuted “The Ritz Salty Club,” a salty-bite celebration filmed in Utah’s Salt Flats and starring Bad Bunny, Aubrey Plaza and Michael Shannon. This year, Mondelez is hinting at a shift. The new commercial “will set the play for more game-changing things to come from the Ritz brand," says Steven Saenen, category president, savory snacking, in the announcement.

The ad is scheduled for the third quarter, and a spokesperson confirms it will be the only Mondelez brand in the game this year.

The return to the Big Game comes at a complicated time for the snack giant. Like many packaged-goods companies, Mondelez is facing a stubborn slowdown in North America, as consumers rethink their relationships with snacks — some because of rising prices, others because of health concerns. In reporting earnings last month, the company said the category “has softened over the last three months,” with value-seeking shoppers increasingly turning to discounters and club stores, while higher-income households gravitate toward premium or better-for-you options. Long-reliable promotions “are not yielding the returns on investment we’ve seen in previous cycles.”

That makes the Super Bowl, with its massive reach and cultural heat, all the more important. Ritz is also leaning on innovation and retail strategy to regain momentum. Mondelez says it is stepping up new product development and expanding value offerings, with greater differentiation between smaller and larger retail formats. It’s also adjusting price-pack architecture and increasing displays — particularly in value, club and convenience channels.

For Ritz, the football shape is a small tweak with bigger aims: driving relevance, building anticipation for the brand’s Super Bowl return, and reminding snackers — value-seekers and health-watchers alike — that the classic cracker isn’t done experimenting.