In time for back to school, Smucker is boosting awareness for its recently launched Uncrustables through two animated characters.

The national broadcast spots feature feuding brothers, Uncrustable and Crust, talking about how they have their own billboard – except for the fact that Crust is missing, a nod to Smucker’s new product. Through their brotherly bickering, Uncrustable and Crust explain what the snack is – a ready-made, crustless PB&J sandwich that also comes with a chocolate hazelnut option, a U.S. hit that just entered the Canadian market.

“To launch this product lineup in a big way, we looked to personify the brand through two animated characters that are featured in our advertising efforts south of the border,” says Adam Zitney, VP of marketing at Smucker. “Through a unique Canadian launch execution, we are looking to drive relevance and trial with Canadians while supporting our global brand building ambitions.”

“The characters have a dynamic that’s so different from everything else in the market, and the fun you can have with them,” says Steve Persico, Co-CCO at Leo Burnett Toronto, the agency behind the campaign. “That brotherly love and brotherly tension is such a fun lens to create work through, especially when you put them in a place they’ve never been, like Canada.”

In the last quarter, Smucker said net sales for its international operating segment (which includes Canada) increased 24% on a comparable basis, primarily driven by Jif peanut butter, coffee products and the newly launched Uncrustables sandwiches.

In the latest Smucker earnings call, it also stated total company net sales of Uncrustables sandwiches were approximately $180 million, and that it “anticipate[s] the rate of growth to accelerate for the balance of the fiscal year, as the total brand is expected to grow net sales approximately 20% for the full year.”

The CPG also expressed its confidence that Uncrustables would become a $1 billion brand.

The campaign is launching nationally with a 30 second broadcast spot, alongside 15 and 6-second OLV. PSOne, which also created the “Father Nature 2.0” campaign in support of Smucker’s natural jams stateside, are the originators of the Uncrustables characters.

The media agency in Canada is Spark.