Dive Brief:

• Whole Foods and Progressive Insurance are teaming up to ensure consumers have a successful Thanksgiving meal by providing "insurance" in case home cooks misstep while preparing holiday feasts, per a press release. The Turkey Protection Plan offers consumers a post-Thanksgiving $35 gift card in the event of an undercooked, overcooked, burnt or dry turkey on the American holiday.
• A commercial touting the promotion features Progressive spokescharacter Jamie describing outlandish seasonal traditions, such as a "TurCactuNanaDucken" or "Birdazzled," where he adds rhinestones and glitter to the bird he's preparing. The spot will run on OTT, online video and social channels. Additional promotions will include TV billboard placements on Food Network and Cooking Channel.
• The stunt, created with agencies Arnold Worldwide and MWWPR, is designed to reassure consumers during a holiday season that will be unusual for many due to the pandemic limiting travel and large family gatherings.

Dive Insight:

With less travel and smaller get-togethers anticipated, Whole Foods is betting on heightened anxiety about the Thanksgiving meal, particularly among first-time cooks and hosts. The grocery chain's vice president of meat and poultry said the Turkey Protection Plan stunt with Progressive intends to lightheartedly encourage people to "take on that turkey with confidence."

Protection redemption comes with many stipulations, however. Turkeys must be Whole Foods Market-branded and purchased between Nov. 11-22, with insurance claims limited to the first 1,000 beginning Nov. 26. Consumers must upload their receipt, a photo of the turkey fail and an explanation of what went wrong at TurkeyProtectionPlan.com. Having a hub where home chefs can submit their turkey fails and explain the stumble may provide Whole Foods and Progressive user-submitted content that it can later repurpose in a follow-up campaign.

For those looking to avoid making an official turkey fail claim, the site includes tips on buying and cooking turkey, instructions about how to order a Whole Foods bird for pickup or delivery, and information on Progressive's insurance offerings.

Thanksgiving may be particularly stressful this year with the pandemic limiting large gatherings and the presidential election's lingering aftermath, and marketers are looking for ways to make the holiday easier on consumers. Hormel's Jennie-O Turkey Store brand, for instance, has added live web chat capabilities and text messaging options to its traditional telephone hotline. Meanwhile, Butterball's Turkey Talk-Line experts will be fielding calls remotely for the first time in the hotline's 39-year history. Those resources, along with Whole Foods' tips for buying and preparing the traditional bird, provide helpful tools for overwhelmed consumers, while the lighthearted insurance plan and video ad deliver some comedic relief amid a stressful season.