Jif and Smucker’s Spread Some Joy with Bold, Comedic Campaigns

Today, two much beloved brands, Jif and Smucker’s, debut two category-shattering campaigns bringing creativity back to consumer packaged goods. The ‘That Jif’ing Good’ campaign blends quirky, irreverent humor with a bold, theatrical tone illustrating just how far people might well go for the fresh-roasted peanut taste of Jif peanut butter. The Smucker’s ‘Father Nature’ campaign introduces a charming, modern dad ‘Father Nature’ who, with helpful guidance from his powerful wife (Mother Nature), discovers Smucker’s Natural Strawberry Fruit Spread, where fruit is the first ingredient.

The multi-faceted, holistic, campaigns are the first creative work from Publicis Groupe’s Power of One team, which in this case includes Publicis New York, Zenith, MSL, Digitas and Moxie.

With unapologetic quirk and irreverence, the ‘That Jif’ing Good’ campaign illustrates the great lengths people would go for the fresh-roasted peanut taste of Jif. This campaign was designed to modernise the iconic peanut butter and make it relevant to peanut butter lovers of all ages — not just moms and dads. Its over-the-top cinematic approach, and hyperbolic tone, might seem a bit extreme for a jar of peanut butter, but if you’ve ever eaten a spoonful of Jif, you’d understand.

At the centerpiece of the ‘That Jif’ing Good’ campaign are two broadcast commercials entitled Bunker and Squirrel. The campaign will live across linear TV, premium and programmatic online video and display channels, along with paid social and paid search, aimed at effectively reaching peanut butter lovers. The social assets across Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest heavy up in moments where peanut butter is more top of mind – lunchtime, mid-afternoon snacking, and late night “eat it by the spoonful” indulgence. Jif will also be partnering with content creators to bring the great lengths challenge of what would you do for a jar of Jif peanut butter to life in humorous, surprising and fresh ways.

Smucker's new campaign champions a modern stay-at-home dad, Father Nature, and his commitment to feeding his daughter more natural, yet still delicious foods. His wife, Mother Nature, has arguably the biggest job on the planet. So it’s Father Nature’s job to keep things running smoothly for the family. It’s no surprise Smucker’s Natural Strawberry Fruit Spread is his go-to fruit spread since it’s always made with fruit as the first ingredient, which is a big deal in the Nature household.

At the centerpiece of the Father Nature campaign are two spots, entitled, List and Kitchen. The campaign will live across linear TV, premium and programmatic online video and display channels, along with paid social and paid search. Organically, Father Nature will have his own Twitter handle to help drive further connection to this character and allow Smucker’s to engage with their audience in a modern way.

“It’s so exciting to debut two stellar campaigns, for two of our legacy brands. We’re all confident this body of work will be a bold stand-out in the industry, and set a new bar for CPG creative excellence and effectiveness,” said Christine Hoffman, consumer engagement group lead at The J.M. Smucker Company. “It’s thrilling to breath new excitement and creative life into our beloved Jif and Smucker’s brands.”

“This new campaign for Jif is so different as we bring edge, sass and cinematics to the peanut butter category,” said Jake Calhoun, director of brand strategy for Jif at The J.M. Smucker Company. “Peanut butter lovers everywhere will relate to the hilarious extremes they would go to for a delicious jar of Jif.” 

“Father Nature perfectly personifies the changing face of fathers in modern families,” said Ali Brown, director of brand strategy for Smucker’s at The J.M. Smucker Company. “We drew upon Smucker’s family heritage, then brought it to life through a lighthearted, enchanting, yet relatable narrative.” 

Andy Bird, chief creative officer, Publicis New York, stated: “When we won The J.M. Smucker Company business, we were tasked with delivering a creative transformation. But when you’re dealing with such iconic brands, you have to be really thoughtful. It was an incredible process from start to finish. A true partnership that yielded the kind of creative work I believe is going to make other CPG marketers think twice about how they show up in the world. I’m very excited about the debut of these two campaigns. And there’s more to come.” 

Erica Roberts, executive creative director, Publicis New York, added: “We all talk to our clients about bravery, but when it’s decision time — particularly on big, iconic brands — most marketers default to what they know. Not these guys. The J.M. Smucker Company’s willingness to push well out of their comfort zone was inspiring. On Jif, we’ve gone from talking to parents about nourishing their kids, to creating mini-motion pictures about the absurd lengths people would go for it. And on Smucker’s, their namesake brand, we’ve given their 120-year-old family heritage a magical reboot. We’re launching PB&J for the modern day.”