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Ball Park has launched a national advertising and 360-degree marketing campaign, “Men. Easier Fed Than Understood,” with the aim of poking gentle fun at the guys in women’s lives. The new campaign builds upon and reinforces the Sara Lee-owned brand’s positioning as the quintessential maker of “guy food” that’s not just filling, but also easy to prepare, tasty, meaty and fun to eat.

Created by Publicis Seattle, the campaign is the brand’s first new creative since the agency became took on the Ball Park account last June. Targeting women who buy guy foods for their men, the effort will showcase a variety of the products from the Ball Park portfolio, with the first spot starring Ball Park Angus Beef Franks.

The multilevel campaign will encompass print, TV, digital, social media, in-store activations and public relations, in addition to the relaunch of the Ball Park website and Facebook page.

“In recent years, we have worked hard to expand Ball Park from the maker of America’s No. 1-selling beef hot dog into a key player in the ‘guy food’ space, providing consumers with products that are not just hearty and flavorful, but easy to prepare and fun to eat,” said Aaron Alt, general manager of the Ball Park brand at Downers Grove, Ill.-based Sara Lee. “The launch of this new campaign is the next step in the evolution of the Ball Park brand. We crafted a campaign that is quintessential Ball Park -- engaging, humorous and all about guy food and guy time -- sure to resonate with our consumers and unique to our brand.”

According to Alt, “Our first spot, ‘99% Sure,’ taps into our brand’s rich heritage in baseball while taking a fun, contemporary look at what guy time is all about.” The ad depicts men standing in a backyard at a family barbecue, engaging in baseball stat one-upmanship while grilling and eating Ball Park Angus Beef Franks.

“Backyard barbecues, stats and tasty, easy-to-eat food are what guys love,” noted Jason Sullivan, SVP group director at Publicis Seattle, part of the North American operating unit of Paris-based Publicis Worldwide. “They’re just part of our natural DNA. Stats are part of our language and the social currency among other guys. And the unrelenting ribbing is our way of showing affection. It’s just how it is. The power of the campaign lies in its simplicity around guy time and Ball Park’s guy food, and a truth that women already know: Men are just easier to feed than understand.”

The new creative launched on Jan. 21 with the national debut of the 30-second second television ad. A number of additional spots are timed to roll out over the course of the next few months. The campaign will also appear across a variety of social media channels, specifically on Facebook, where consumers can go to receive an exclusive offer from Ball Park.