Kraft Peanut Butter tackles food allergies with SickKids

Kraft Peanut Butter may be one of the enemies for people with food allergies, but the brand is hoping to put an end to the battle altogether.

The iconic brand has partnered with The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) to educate people about food allergies and help find a cure.

A new digital campaign, created by Taxi 2, includes two videos that show close-up shots of a boy and girl who appear to be distressed. A voiceover explains that severe food allergies are a threat to over 300,000 kids in Canada. “Even more threatening is what they’ll have to worry about in 2026,” she says.

The spots then show why the kids are actually upset: the girl is getting a haircut from her mom and didn’t want bangs, and the boy is upset that his dad turned off his video game.

The videos drive to the microsite InOnly10Years.com, where people can learn about food allergies and donate to SickKids’ Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis program, whose goal is to cure allergies within the next 10 years.

“The videos are about creating hope, to show that in only 10 years, kids will be able to worry about just kids stuff,” said Lauren Zelikovitz, associate brand manager, Kraft Peanut Butter at Kraft Canada.

The microsite features audio and video recordings from kids affected by food allergies, such as a girl who’s never been to a baseball game because they sell peanuts, and a teen boy who has to ask anyone he’s about to kiss if they’ve eaten nuts or sesame seeds. Online visitors can also make donations to the research program.

The stories on the website “open up so many situations and things that your average person probably doesn’t realize or understand,” said Zelikovitz. “We know that there are certain things people with food allergies can’t eat, but you never really think about people not being able to go a baseball game because there’s peanuts everywhere, or when they go to a birthday party, there’s a special cake for them, or they can’t even go to a birthday party.”

The partnership between Kraft Peanut Butter and SickKids was first announced last fall. Kraft Peanut Butter made a $100,000 donation to the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis program and committed to developing a consumer campaign.

But, why would a peanut butter brand align with the cause when it’s part of the problem? “There’s definitely been a lot of questions and concerns, people saying ‘why would Kraft Peanut Butter do something like this because [peanuts] are a leading allergen,’” said Zelikovitz.

“It really goes back to what our brand purpose is and what we’re about. So, yes, we might be part of the allergy problem, but we are really about creating connections and finding a way for friends and families to spend more time together. Although it might seem strange at first, when you dig deep into what we’re about, it makes so much sense.”

Zelikovitz said the campaign fits into Kraft Peanut Butter’s ongoing “Stick Together” platform, which launched in 2014 and focuses on creating meaningful moments.

With SickKids’ goal to find a cure within 10 years, “what that will do is allow for so many more moments for friends and family to be together again and stick together,” said Zelikovitz. “Their mission just aligns so well with everything that Kraft Peanut Butter has been talking about for the last two years.”

As part of the campaign, Kraft Peanut Butter commissioned two surveys, fielded by Vision Critical and Food Allergy Canada, to highlight the challenges faced by families with food allergies. On social media, people are encouraged to share their stories with #InOnly10Years.

The campaign runs until late April. Edelman is handling PR and Starcom handled the digital buy.