Kraft Foods has cooked up a branded entertainment series that brings together several of its biggest products.
The series, dubbed “You Gotta LOL,” debuted today (Monday), and is part of the food giant’s effort to engage with consumers via its consumer relationship marketing channels. Fourteen brands are participating in the series, including Wheat Thins, Oreo, Kool-Aid, Chips Ahoy! and Jell-O. This is the first time that Kraft has brought several of its bestsellers under one initiative.
Kraft has tapped Anita Renfroe—a stay-at-home mom turned comedian—as the star of the new videos, which are light on the product integration side and heavy on the comedy side, said Julie Fleischer, director-CRM, content strategy and integration at Kraft. The food brands aren’t featured prominently in the series, although they are mentioned.
A video for Kraft’s 100-calorie Cheese Bites, for instance, opens with Renfroe challenging modern day perceptions of weight loss. “I have to say, I struggle with my weight. And any woman who says she doesn’t struggle with her weight is, in the most kind, political terms I know, ‘a lying liar,’” she says.
In another video for Chips Ahoy!, Renfroe discussed women’s obsession with chocolate. Renfroe jokes: “All females have known this intuitively for years because chocolate belongs to the four food groups that females believe in: depression, elation, ovulation and PM-ation.” At the end, all the videos direct consumers to YouGottaLOL.com.
Kraft, which worked with Meredith Corp.’s integrated marketing department on the launch, has created 18 videos altogether (two of which are holiday themed). The company plans to launch a new one each week. The videos will be promoted via Kraft’s CRM channels like Kraftrecipes.com, as well as on YouTube and Facebook.
Fleischer said the goal was to “find a way to connect with [consumers] on their own terms with something that was relevant, compelling and exciting.” Therefore, instead of focusing on actual brands, the videos offer comic insights like “the desire to be that mom that’s got it all going on,” said Fleischer. Appropriately, the target demo is women who lead busy lives.
The videos are short—about two minutes each—which fits Kraft’s audience of time-starved moms perfectly. Fleischer said Kraft is hoping the series becomes a viral hit.