Campbell Company of Canada has admitted that until recently, even some of its more health-conscious employees wouldn’t eat its soup.
In a TV spot that debuted at the start of September, a Campbell employee named Michael reveals he was reluctant to serve his family Campbell’s soup because he was concerned it was unhealthy.
Michael is a real employee, and the story is true, said Moya Brown, the director of marketing for Campbell Canada.
Five years ago the company did internal research to find out how its own employees viewed the brand. It saw a big red flag when employees like Michael reported they wouldn’t serve some of Campbell’s products to their families. “It was a wake up call,” she said.
Since then the company has made changes to its products to ensure they are offering consumers healthy choices.
Campbell has reduced the sodium content in its soups, had more than half of its 80 retail products approved by the Heat & Stroke Foundation and created a line of health-conscious soups called the “Healthy Request.”
Campbell is hoping the spots, created by BBDO, overcome the public perception that its canned soup is salty and over processed.
This is the first of three spots that feature Campbell’s employees. On Sept. 22, a spot featuring another employee will air, followed in January by the third spot advertising the “Healthy Request” line.
Brown said Campbell wanted the employees in the ads to represent the diversity of the company’s staff and the country. While the first ad stars Michael, who is an older white male, in the second spot is a staff member of Caribbean descent and January’s ad features a young female.
While the spots focus on health, said Brown, Campbell wants consumers to know that taste has not been put on the back burner. “As much as consumers are concerned with health and wellness, taste is important,” she said.
