Today’s recipe’ is less an actual recipe than the exploration of a concept. Jif peanut butter – along with Skippy, a ‘founding father’ of the product – is reaching out beyond the bread, promoting all kinds of applications for the iconic spread apart from sandwiches…
The Jif online influencer, from the new Jif multi-platform commercial…
We who know and love cooking are already aware that peanut butter is a key component of many dishes, not the least of which are desserts and snacks, Indonesian Satays and peanut soups. The latter nutrient rich soups have been independently discovered and curated for centuries in cuisines from China to West Africa, and beyond…
Much more to it…
A recent survey, commissioned by Jif’s parent company, Smucker’s, revealed that the 85 percent of consumers recognise the brand by its colour scheme. But most of them associate the product mainly with PB&J sandwiches.
But that’s apparently not enough for Jif. The brand has launched a major promo push introducing its updated wordmark and trademark red/blue/green colour scheme and suggesting that younger folks widen their perception of the product.
What they did
… Was create a 60-second commercial showing different ways to use peanut butter – as a dip, a snack and an ingredient in smoothies, protein bowls and pasta dishes. Peanuts are of course, well-known as a rich source of plant-based protein…
The 60-second spot also shows the brand as the focus of a mock cooking show episode, and as the topic of a content creator’s video. It will run across a wide range of platforms including broadcast, streaming, online video, Meta, TikTok and Pinterest.
“Jif’s logo is so recognizable that changing it felt almost forbidden, which is exactly what made the idea fun,” Yohan Daver, Executive Creative Director at BBH USA, said in a statement.
The overall campaign is aimed at younger folks, who have been found, in many recent polls, to be more willing to explore new culinary ideas than folks over 40.
My take
I’ve long thought that peanut butter was underappreciated as a cooking ingredient. Maybe the Jif promo campaign will result in folks of all ages and generations opening their minds to new and previously unimagined applications for this fundamentally healthy food…
Anybody up for Chicken Pad Thai Nachos?
~ Maggie J.