ConAgra Foods Canada is shining the spotlight on three of its VH brand of sauces in a television commercial from Leo Burnett Toronto.
In the 30-second spot a man in a black suit tosses a dossier to a couple sitting primly on a couch. The phrase “somewhere in Canada” appears below them as the agent tells them “These are your new Canadian identities.”
He thumps down a book about beavers on a table in front of two kids with the reasoning that it could save their lives. Another agent wearing dark glasses opens a black suitcase to display the content: three VH sauces. The ad ends with the tagline: “Canada’s Favourite Sauces.”
ConAgra is re-focusing on soy sauce, plum sauce and honey garlic sauce. Those three products are “the heart of the VH business,” said Carol Chan, senior brand manager of VH. The goal is to increase awareness of classic VH sauces.
VH is this country’s top-selling Asian sauce, though it has been made and sold in Canada since the company’s creation in the 1950s. “We wanted to show how proud we are of the product and of our Canadian identity, but we wanted to do so in a humorous way,” said Chan.
The VH spy agent ad targets head of households — busy, hardworking moms — who are looking for shortcuts to cooking flavourful meals from scratch. Chan described VH customers as “capable cooks who enjoy adding their own personal touches.”
The current campaign comes one year after a package redesign. “The intent was to freshen things up,” said Chan. The company changed their labels and packaging at the end of 2013 in order to help consumers easily find the product on-shelf and make the product more appealing to look at and shop for.
The current television ad began airing last month and will run nationally through to the end of March 2015 and is tied to in-store specials. Starcom Canada handled the media buy.
