Toronto-based Weston Bakeries has new marketing plans for Wonder Bread, a venerable North American brand that has had spotty advertising support in Canada in recent years.

In January, for the first time in at least three years, the Wonder Bread brand will gain a push from television advertising in Ontario, where Wonder Bread White is actually still the No. 1 bread in the white bread category.

White bread was once the staple for most North American families and always a favorite of children. It has suffered over the past couple of decades as darker breads have gained popularity based for a large part on their image as a healthier alternative.

Ann Marie Cicuttini, assistant product manager at Weston Bakeries, says Weston looked at the erosion of market share in the u.s., as well as its lack of advertising, and decided it was time to change the marketing strategy behind the bread in Canada before its share waned.

‘In the u.s., [Wonder Bread] was losing market share even though its prices declined at the same time, and, what we’re finding is, in order to maintain brand equity, in order to keep it top of mind and to keep consumer awareness high, advertising was the best thing to do,’ Cicuttini says.

The market share of the Wonder Bread brand in Canada has remained stable since 1986 when the brand was bought by Weston from u.s.-based General Bakeries.

‘What we’re trying to say is that we don’t feel decreasing price is the right strategy to do constantly,’ Cicuttini says.

The advertising, created by Bensimon Byrne of Toronto, focuses on Wonder Bread White and Wonder Bread 100% products.

The ad is targeted to female heads-of-household, between 25 and 49 years of age, with children and who are white bread users.

Jack Bensimon, at Bensimon Byrne, says the greatest challenge in creating advertising for the brand was how to contemporize it.

‘Wonder Bread is one of the grand old brands like Nestle Quik, Cheeze Whiz and Coca-cola in terms of being one of the icons remaining from the Fifties and Sixties,’ Bensimon says.

‘As a result, it has a great amount of familiarity and great perceptions among those who grew up with it,’ he says.

‘At the same time, [Wonder Bread] may lack contemporary relevance to someone who may have come here from another country, different parts of North America where it wasn’t advertised, or maybe someone just didn’t see themselves fitting into the particular lifestyle that Wonder Bread was clearly a part of.’

Bensimon says the advertising had to reach new consumers and reinforce those who had Wonder Bread as children and now have children of their own.

He says the ad’s key message is that Wonder Bread is a good-tasting bread that is nutritious.

Research conducted by Weston Bakeries showed consumers did not want any changes to packaging as it is something they identify with and recognize.

However, Weston is changing packaging slightly to emphasize the nutritious qualities of the bread.

‘We want to remind consumers that [Wonder Bread] is a good-for-you bread and that it’s something kids have grown up with.’

Cicuttini believes health issues and nutritional skepticism surrounding white breads is fading into the past.

‘We’re really trying to focus on the Canada Food Guide and let consumers know that Canada Food Guide recommends this type of bread,’ she says.

‘It’s low fat and there’s no cholesterol. It’s not bad for you.’