Lettuce Speaks for Itself in Little Leaf Farms’ Hotline Campaign from GYK Antler

Although most people don’t know the Little Leaf Farms brand, everyone who’s tried their lettuce really loves it … like drop everything to write Little Leaf fanmail-level love.

So when Little Leaf decided it was time to develop its first-ever brand campaign, in partnership with agency of record GYK Antler, the duo realized there was no better way to market the product than by bringing that fervent customer enthusiasm to a broader audiences and letting the lettuce speak for itself.

As part of their campaign launching on August 15 – 'Lettuce that Speaks for Itself' – Little Leaf and GYK tapped into the hundreds of voicemails and emails left by fans and turned those real reviews into the voice of the brand itself. Foregoing pushing the same-old product claims made by many competitors in the lettuce category (fresh, healthy), Little Leaf’s actual customers speak for them, enabling the brand to establish taste superiority in a bold, genuine way. Amid a sea of sameness in the produce aisle, the brand aims to drive trial and taste testing by using these 'tastemonials' and the campaign’s simple, clear messaging to cut through the noise and champion the product. 

To bring the customer voicemails/emails to life, in a series of five 15-second video spots, and four 6-second video spots, along with four 15-second streaming audio spots, the team called back to the style of old-school commercials featuring toll-free numbers, using vintage film techniques and retro propping. And to stand out even more, they didn’t just show the lettuce in salads; they featured it in grain bowls, burgers and more, showing that you don’t have to love salads to love Little Leaf.

The campaign comes to life via connected TV, OOH, point-of-sale, streaming audio, and social media within the New England region through the mid-Atlantic as the Little Leaf brand prepares to open a new state-of-the-art greenhouse in Pennsylvania.

Little Leaf Farms' Lindsay Hardie, VP of marketing, says: “Little Leaf Farms is a game-changer in the salad category, and its first advertising campaign needed to be as unique and disruptive as the brand itself. The notes we get from our lettuce fans every day are not only an enormous source of pride but also proof that lettuce isn’t just a commodity, it’s worthy of the center of the plate, and that the way it tastes and how it’s grown really matters. These tastemonials differentiate Little Leaf Farms from the sea of sameness that exists in the category and the creative treatment is a fresh and innovative way to brand build in produce. We are excited to welcome many new fans to our community with this campaign.”

GYK Antler's John Mathieu, creative director, says: “It's not every day you get to work with a brand that has a genuine cult following, where you can simply build on a thriving conversation instead of having to start one from the ground up. Little Leaf came to us with real feedback from fans – essentially, love letters – that you’d be hard pressed to ever fake or replicate. This commentary was the heart and soul of our campaign, because who better to raise awareness of the brand than the very people who wanted to drop everything to tell us how much they love our lettuce? The tastemonials aim to reinforce the authentically approachable and human-side of the Little Leaf brand in a category that otherwise can feel a little cold or elitist.”