Campbell Revamps Chunky™ Soup Line, Advertising

Campbell Soup Co. is rolling out what it calls the most comprehensive set of enhancements in its Chunky soup line’s 40-year history. The Camden, N.J.-based manufacturer is now offering 23 Chunky soups with both a full serving of vegetables and 100 percent lean meat, while reminding consumers that most of the more than 40 items in the product line provide a good source of protein.

“Extensive research revealed men today are facing what we call a ‘male meal dilemma’ -- they’re having trouble finding convenient, satisfying foods that taste good and that they feel good about eating,” said VP of ready-to-serve soup Michael J. Barkley. “We saw an opportunity for Chunky to help solve that dilemma. We took what people love about Chunky and made it even better, with more high-quality, nutritious ingredients that taste great and fill you up.”

To highlight the changes, a new label design calls out Chunky’s nutritional benefits and features color-coding to help guide customers to similar soup varieties. Additionally, a new television campaign, “This Is Why,” takes a more gut-level approach than earlier TV ads, showing real fathers working hard before returning home to their children and eating a bowl of Chunky soup to demonstrate how the brand fits into their lifestyle. The improved product will also star in print and radio ads.

As well as reaching out to its core male consumer, Campbell is running Chunky soup print advertising for the first time in women’s magazines such as Cosmopolitan and Woman’s Day and featuring the product in ads that will air as part of female-oriented television and radio programming.

“Women not only make the majority of purchase and meal decisions for the household, but they actually consume about half of the Chunky soup that is brought into the home,” noted senior brand manager Douglas Brand. “We took a fresh new approach with our media plan to speak to both men and women. People can expect to see Chunky ads during NFL games and in many other surprising places.”

Although for the first time in over a decade, the brand’s TV ads aren’t featuring NFL players, Campbell is continuing to employ the NFL in its in-store, promotional and online activities to promote the Chunky line. Additionally, the company has recruited Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman as a spokesman to embody “male meal dilemma” from an active dad’s perspective. Aikman will appear in three issues of Men’s Health under a new partnership the Chunky brand has with the publication.

Also as part of this collaboration, Men’s Health is debuting a microsite, www.ChunkySoupGamePlan.com, which goes live Sept. 8, 2009. The site will feature interactive tips, tools and videos to help men improve their quality of life by such simple changes as making good food choices and staying active. Visitors also can enter a sweepstakes to win a trip to Super Bowl XLIV in Florida in February 2010.

Further, the Click for Cans™ contest is still a major plank in the Campbell’s Chunky/NFL Tackling Hunger® program, an initiative with the goal of fighting hunger in the United States by generating food donations to Feeding America food banks and raising awareness about anti-hunger efforts.
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