Brief:
- Pepperidge Farm, the baked goods brand owned by the Campbell Soup Company, ran a live social media campaign for the 92nd Academy Awards that dressed up its Milano cookies in red carpet fashions. The brand recreated the night's "most iconic looks" and posted the #BestDressedCookies photos on its Twitter and Instagram accounts, per an announcement shared with Mobile Marketer.
- Milano partnered with @CadesCakes, a direct-to-consumer (DTC) bakery with about 23,000 followers on Instagram, to decorate the cookies as Hollywood stars walked down the red carpet. Bakery founder Sam Cade recreated the looks by hand in real time and tweeted the photos to the brand's Twitter followers.
- Milano announced the campaign, which was created with agency VMLY&R, with video posts on Twitter and Instagram showing how Cade crafted the cookies to look like memorable red carpet dresses from celebrities ranging from Björk to Jennifer Lopez. On Oscar night, she recreated the looks of stars including Janelle Monáe, Billy Porter, Laura Dern and Saoirse Ronan, among others.
Insight:
Pepperidge Farm's social media campaign aimed to capture the red carpet glamour of Hollywood's biggest night as the Oscars trended on social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram. Live events like the Academy Awards tend to inspire millions of people to provide running commentaries on social media, and Milano was able to participate in those conversations with its witty #BestDressedCookies campaign.
On February 9th, we’re recreating the hottest red carpet looks...on our cookies. So grab a pack of Milano cookies and join us for a watch party. #BestDressedCookies pic.twitter.com/ZucWOWIy4D
— Milano Cookies (@milanocookies) January 31, 2020
"Second-screening" on mobile devices while watching TV has grown more popular as people use social media or play mobile games. Almost three-fourths (71%) of TV viewers use a mobile device to find more information about TV programming, while 41% said they text, email or message someone about the content as it's happening, according to Nielsen data cited by TechCrunch. A counterprogramming strategy like the one for Milano cookies can help to reach audiences and deepen their engagement with a branded experience that differs from traditional advertising. This strategy was popular with several brands who opted not to advertise during the Super Bowl but wanted to ride the game's buzz via social media conversation.
Reaching audiences on social media has grown increasingly critical for brands as younger audiences consume more content on their smartphones. The Oscar broadcast on ABC drew an average of 23.6 million viewers, a record low for the broadcast and 20% drop from the prior year, CNN reported. The lower ratings were part of a trend in declining viewership for award shows like the Grammys and Emmys as audiences shift their attention elsewhere.
