When You're Friendly, You Get Friendly's

If you’ve spent some time in the Northeast, chances are you’ve heard of Friendly’s, the chain of diner-like restaurants known for its elaborate desserts. Friendly's, a Dean Foods Company brand, brings the nostalgia generated by those family dessert occasions into your home with a full line of frozen desserts and Ice Cream products. This week, Forsman & Bodenfors New York launched its first campaign for the brand, "Be Friendly. Get Friendly’s”

Featuring two silly spots directed by Jared Lapidus, whose credits include the TruTV series “Ghost Story Club,” Netflix’s “The Who Was Show,” and NBC’s “Maya & Marty, ” “Be Friendly. Get Friendly’s” shows that every day is more fun and friendly with Friendly’s. The campaign features the popular Friendly’s Sundae Cups and the new Friendly’s Dessert Cups – single servings of ice cream deliciousness inspired by the restaurant’s signature desserts - that you can now pick up from grocers’ freezer sections nationwide and enjoy at home for any occasion, big or small. 

“Sharing” shows a woman eating a Friendly’s Dessert Cup, who is asked by her husband (played by David Ebert) where she got it. “I did something friendly and it just showed up,” she says. “So if you’re friendly enough to give your Friendly’s Dessert Cup, another would just appear?” he asks. She hands him the cup and voila, another Friendly’s Dessert Cup magically appears.  

In contrast, the second spot, “Siblings,” shows a sister making an unfriendly comment to her curious brother, which in turn makes her Friendly’s sundae cup disappear. She quickly makes a friendly comment and magically gets her sundae cup back, to the shock of her brother.

For the social component, F&B will be launching a new social presence for Friendly’s Ice Cream (@friendlys_icecream) and inviting people to do something Friendly with the chance of being rewarded with Friendly’s Ice Cream.

As Friendly’s rolls out our signature Sundae and Dessert Cups in the freezer sections of local grocers and supermarkets nationwide, our campaign aims to help make Friendly’s Ice Cream a beloved national brand by bringing the fun of the Friendly’s restaurant dessert experience home for everyday celebrations.

“The Friendly’s brand has always been about human connection, going back to the Blake Brothers' original mission “to make the world a friendly place” when they opened the first scoop shop in 1935,” says Marissa Jarratt, SVP Marketing and GM Frozen Business Unit. “With this campaign, we aim to reignite the Friendly’s mission in today’s world by not only bringing our desserts to people's homes but showcasing the power of friendliness in a humorous way.”

“This campaign demonstrates how Friendly’s is a catalyst for positivity through fun and friendly moments. We believe consumers will connect to this message and remember that a small act of friendliness can be a powerful and occasionally silly thing,” says Cerra Buckholz, Creative at Forsman & Bodenfors New York.