Interstate Bakeries Hoping for a (Bread) Winner

Advertiser: Interstate Bakeries

Agency: Campbell Mithun Esty, Minneapolis

Challenge: Boost recognition of Interstate Bakeries regional brands--Webers in Los Angeles--before the back-to-school season gets underway.

The Ads: A TV spot consists of a series of warm vignettes in which family members prepare their favorite sandwiches using bread from Interstate. A red-headed girl constructs a drippy, mile-high peanut butter and jelly sandwich. A teenage boy relishes a sardine special--with fish tails still attached. Mom sits at a kitchen table to eat her neatly prepared sandwich, and two small children tug at her elbows for a bite. The spot ends with the slogan, “Your family. Webers bread. Perfect together.”

Comment: Interstate Bakeries uses the ad to underscore the idea that ordinary white bread goes with anything. That’s a strong selling point for hurried parents rushing to make sandwiches for school kids in the morning. Interstate’s ad brings homey warmth to a bland product. The company is betting that the spot will nudge parents in Los Angeles to choose Webers over store and national brands. $$+

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Ads are rated from $ to $$$$, based on tastefulness and probable effectiveness, with $$$$ being highest.