It’s easy to skip breakfast. And as a teenager, it’s even easier to skip breakfast. In fact, 75% of teenagers start their day without eating anything before heading to school.
That’s why Totino’s Pizza Rolls has taken on the breakfast challenge… and introduced the new Totino’s Breakfast Snack Bites.
Working with Dentsu Creative, the agency responsible for the brand’s comedic, wacky tone with campaigns like “Area 425,” the task was to convince Gen Z teens that Totino’s Breakfast Snack Bites could be a quick and delicious addition to their hectic morning routine.
The campaign spots feature heartwarming morning scenes at the breakfast table, infused with Totino’s bizarre and unexpected tone, based on the realisation that nostalgia resonates with Generation Z – a generation that loves the ’90s for its convenience and escapism, despite not growing up in the era or actually experiencing it. Source
So they drew on the imagery of commercials from the 80s and 90s to create the “Start the Day the Totino’s Way” campaign.
Featuring retro music, including original, hilarious jingles by Butter, and a retro visual style designed to evoke a nostalgic feeling in viewers, the spots quickly introduce absurd moments of Totino’s humor, featuring everything from creepy sun puppets to a mom with a Totino mustache to disembodied arms in freezers trying to steal your breakfast.
To bring the idea to life, Dentsu Creative worked with Emma Debaney of WW7, who immediately understood the vision for the campaign. We collaborated with her on every element of the work, from casting to set design to shooting with Digital Bolex for a retro feel. Everyone from the brand to the agency to the production partners were perfectly aligned to bring this warm, sunny, yet weird and wacky vision to life.
The Totino’s Breakfast campaign, featuring spots like “Mom Stache,” “Wakey Wakey,” and more, began running this week in online video, streaming TV, the brand’s social channels, and paid social media placements.
Taylor Roseberry, Brand Experience Manager at General Mills, said: Totino’s is all about making every day epic and we bring everything fans love about us to the morning. I’m thrilled with the creative vision Dentsu Creative brought to this campaign, combining iconic 80s and 90s breakfast nostalgia with an absurdly fun and unexpected Totino’s twist.
Alyssa Ollis – Group Creative Director, Dentsu Creative, said: “I’m so lucky to have led Totino’s creative work for Dentsu for the past three years and am beyond thrilled with the results the work has brought for the brand. It takes brave customers to keep pushing the level of absurdity and their surreal tone year after year. They know what their brand stands for and what teens are willing to stop scrolling for.”
