Pear Bureau Campaign Urges Shoppers to 'Check the Neck'

Pear Bureau Northwest is launching a new consumer advertising campaign to help boost pear consumption by emphasizing the importance of ripening with the tagline: “Want it sweet? Check the neck to know it’s ripe.”

Running from October 2014 through the end of February 2015, the campaign's ads will be featured in Bon Appétit, Cooking Light, Every Day with Rachael Ray, Weight Watchers Magazine and Food Network Magazine.

The colorful ad creative features fresh pears replacing typical dessert offerings, with a green Anjou pear on an ice cream cone, a red Anjou pear in a cupcake paper, and a Bosc pear on a cake stand. The bright artwork emphasizes the appeal of fresh pears and gives the campaign an iconic feel and will help consumers learn more about ripening at the bottom of the ad with a call to visit www.usapears.org for recipes.

Explains Kevin D. Moffitt, president /CEO of the Portland, Ore.-based Pear Bureau Northwest: “Our research has shown that we’ve increased the number of shoppers who know how to tell when a pear is ripe, which is the key to flavor. We’re continuing to expand upon that success with this advertising campaign, which will attract and excite consumers, inspire healthier choices, and increase pear consumption.”

The new pear campaign replaces previous creative that ran for three seasons in a successful campaign through various print and digital ads. Expanding upon that initial success, the current campaign will run for three to five years in print magazines as well as online in digital ads. The campaign targets the typical pear consumer: women aged 25 - 54 with average household incomes of $50k+, who may or may not have children.

Pear Bureau Northwest, which recently named Publix as its 2014 Pear Retailer of the Year, is a non-profit marketing organization that promotes fresh USA Pears grown in Washington and Oregon, which play home to 84 percent of the U.S. fresh pear crop.