Hormel Foods Launches Be Smooth Like Skippy Campaign

SKIPPY Commercial Uses Grammy-Winning Song to Amplify Its Product Quality

Hormel Foods, the makers of SKIPPY peanut butter launched the BE SMOOTH LIKE SKIPPY advertising campaign created to showcase the smoothness and deliciousness of its peanut butter.

The campaign includes a series of videos with child actor Cooper Friedman performing a variety of smooth tasks, as well as enjoying the brand’s peanut butter. The campaign, which includes both 15-and 30-second spots, will air on television in the US as well as select digital and social channels, and incorporates both core peanut butter and natural spreads of peanut butter. The campaign also showcases one of the brand’s newest products—P.B. Bites, with 30-second spots providing “bite-sized advice on how to be smooth.”

“SKIPPY peanut butter is undeniably smooth. The campaign showcases the fun, light hearted personality of the brand, while the creative underscores how smooth and craveable it is,” said Jennesa Kinscher, Brand Manager for SKIPPY peanut butter.

Additionally, Hormel Foods has licensed the song “Uptown Funk” from record producer Mark Ronson featuring 11-time Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Bruno Mars. The spot includes the lyrics “smoother than a fresh jar of Skippy,” which tie into the overall campaign.

“Associating an iconic brand like SKIPPY peanut butter with the iconic, Grammy-winning song ‘Uptown Funk’ was very important to us. The song does an incredible job amplifying the spot and harnessing the ‘be smooth like Skippy’ discussion that’s already happening in pop culture around the world,” said Kinscher.

Developed with BBDO Minneapolis, the campaign represents the company’s second launch of a national marketing campaign in the past three years. In 2016, Hormel Foods launched a campaign for the company’s new P.B. Bites product.

“When people open that fresh jar of peanut butter, we want them to say, ‘wow that’s smooth,’ while also emphasising smooth as an attitude and a way of life,” said David Mackereth, Creative Director for BBDO Minneapolis.