Kraft puts some Olympic shine on its peanut butter

Kraft

Kraft Peanut Butter is sticking with Team Canada athletes in a new national campaign that showcases its role in Olympic success.

Though the connection between peanut butter and Olympians isn’t immediately obvious, the brand is aiming to change that by clearly showcasing how its product has helped some of the country’s best athletes compete on the international stage.

“We know when people think of the Olympics, they won’t immediately think of peanut butter, and Team Canada having an official peanut butter might even sound ridiculous, but it’s not,” explains Daniel Gotlib, associate director of brand building and innovation at Kraft Heinz Canada. “For years, Kraft Peanut Butter has been providing Canadian athletes with the functional and emotional nourishment they need to train.”

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The campaign centres on a spot featuring speed skater Laurent Dubreuil that points out all the ways it makes sense for Team Canada to have an official peanut butter, be it providing energy for the training montage viewers are currently watching or giving athletes a “taste of home” while they’re competing. The spot is running on TV and live across OLV and social media.

It is supported by additional partnerships with freestyle skiers Chloé and Justine Dufour Lapointe and bobsledder Cynthia Appiah, who are providing content while competing in Beijing, including recipes that they use to help them perform at an elite level.

“These partnerships are a great way to show how our product has always been part of nourishing their journeys, at home and when they are away competing,” says Gotlib. “In their own words, they can demonstrate Kraft Peanut Butter’s role in their journey and share the importance of having that familiar taste of home while being so far away from their friends and family.”

The campaign takes a slightly more cheeky approach than Kraft Peanut Butter usually employs. For the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, the brand played on the fact that fans would not be allowed in the stands during competition, encouraging Canadians to record themselves cheering, which would be put into a playlist for athletes to listen to.

Kraft Peanut Butter’s AORs handled the campaign: Rethink on creative and production, Carat on media, The Kitchen handling social and Middle Child handling PR and athlete partnerships.