VaynerMedia

Client: Kraft Heinz
Product: Planters
Title: The Death of Mr. Peanut
Media: SOCIAL & TV
Country: United States
Date Of Campaign: February 2020

Background: Being a 103-year-old brand has its advantages. With 98% unaided awareness, Planters is one of the most well-known nut brands in the world (1). The disadvantage? Being 103 years old doesn’t help you sell nuts. As the snacking category explodes with new innovations, offerings, and flavor profiles, Mr. Peanut’s cultural relevance isn’t what it used to be, especially with younger audiences driving the snacking purchases. As we approached the Super Bowl—the biggest snacking day of the year and one of the most critical moments in time for a salty nut—we just weren’t top of mind, or even in the consideration set of most buyers. With private label demand increasing in retailer and customer preferences, we had a major strategic challenge: reignite love for Mr. Peanut to drive earned media and increase both favorability and preference for Planters with consumers

Idea: We knew we had to do something big to put Mr. Peanut at the forefront of culture and drive relevance ahead of the biggest snacking stage: the Super Bowl. Once our research showed how much passion there was for Mr. P, and we found our insight that “absence makes the heart grow fonder”, we knew what we had to do. If we wanted to shock the world at how much they love Mr. P, we had to take him away.

Results: By the end of the Super Bowl Program we had 11 billion impressions, were the #1 trending topic on twitter twice, generated a 963% sales increase (Jan - Mar YoY), and forever changed the status of the Planters brand in pop culture.