Dive Brief:

• Pringles has launched its first refresh since 2018 with the new "Mind Popping" global campaign, per information emailed to Marketing Dive.
• The campaign kicks off with an advertisement made in collaboration with the London advertising agency Grey. During the 20-second ad, a narrator claims the consumer was "made for Pringles" after showing how the chips have the rough shape of the universe and a human tongue. This theory is then endorsed by Charles Darwin as the ad ramps up the use of humor.
• With the campaign, Pringles, which is owned by The Kellogg Company, joins the growing ranks of legacy brands launching refreshes for the post-pandemic market. The campaign launched last week via TV,
  video on demand, online video, social and out-of-home ads.

Dive Insight:

In the past few weeks, M&M's, Anheuser-Busch and Coca-Cola have all launched brand refreshes in an effort to remain relevant in a world looking to move beyond the coronavirus pandemic. With its new campaign scheduled to run through April 23, 2022, Pringles makes a similar attempt by catering to the playful side of the consumer through the use of humor and pointing to the brand's heritage as a snack intended to be fun.

By positioning itself as a product that puts fun into everyday moments, Pringles is trying to remain relevant as consumer tastes rapidly change. As the world undergoes drastic changes, brands are making an effort to change with it, all the while looking to remain recognizable to the consumer. Some have been more successful than others, but all the efforts look to keep up with the emerging post-pandemic consumer.

"The fact that a famous sci-fi author invented their baking machine, that the universe is shaped like a Pringles chip and that the chip perfectly fits the tongue, all led us to the thought of 'Mind Popping' and how, what looks like a simple potato chip, is in fact so much more," Grey Global Group Creative Directors Christopher Lapham and Aaron McGurk said in a statement.

During the campaign's first ad, a narrator claims that humans evolved for the sole reason of developing opposable thumbs to pop open a Pringle can. The humorous spot is meant to position Pringles as a fun, enjoyable, everyday snack.

To support the refresh, Pringle's will host a five-minute light show at the Lee Valley VeloPark in London and will feature animations and influencer content from Ollie.B. The experience, which was created in partnership with Onepointfive, will be live streamed on the Pringle YouTube channel on Feb. 9 at 7:30 p.m. GMT time.

The refresh marks Pringles first since 2018, when the company unveiled "Pop, Play, Eat." Similar to the new campaign, the older effort meant to invoke feelings of fun while ads focused heavily on the popping open of a Pringle can. In the past, Pringles has played into the addictive nature of the salty snack such, as with the "Once You Pop, You Can't Stop" effort.