Bread Ad’s Ending Slices Into Effectiveness

Advertiser: Interstate Bakeries Corp.

Agency: Campbell Mithun Esty, Minneapolis

Challenge: Boost sales of sixth-ranked Millbrook brand bread so that it breaks into the top five best-selling brands in Southern California--a category led by Philip Morris Inc.’s Oroweat.

The Ad: People wave to a Millbrook bread truck driver as a voice-over proclaims: “People judge you by what you drive.” The action cuts to footage of buttermilk and oat bran as the voice-over describes the ingredients used in the bread. The commercial ends when a woman driver pulls alongside the truck, and winks at the Millbrook driver. “Is it me or the bread?” the driver wonders aloud. “It’s the bread,” he concludes.

Comment: By having happy people greet the driver, this commercial uses campy humor to portray Millbrook bread as special. The shots of buttermilk and oat bran help give the bread a healthy glow. But the cheesy ending, in which the woman winks at the driver, detracts from that wholesome image. $$