I don’t know how much money Kraft spent on a campaign it inevitably destroyed, but it was enough to do it correctly. To launch the same “send comfort during uncomfortable times” campaign without dousing it in innuendo and pixelated noodles. To create the perfect going-into-those-cold-winter-months spot that was memorable for the right reasons.
It costs just as much money to launch a bad campaign as it does a good one. This was a big miss, and an even bigger waste of dollars when the video, campaign microsite, and other assets were thrown away as collateral damage.
2. It was insulting to Kraft's core audience 👎
Look, I’m not clutching my pearls feigning horror that a brand used sex to sell mac n cheese. Yet, remember the context. This isn’t a brand using adult innuendo to sell adult things. This is Kraft sexualizing a product most often purchased by over-tired parents to feed their grubby-handed school-aged children.
This message for that audience is inappropriate at best, and at worse, dangerous.
My four-year-old won’t see this campaign and get the joke. But what about a 10-year-old boy, or a 10-year-old girl, on the cusp of new changes and new pressures? They might. And an ad that depicts sending nudes as harmless and fun is the wrong message for Kraft to attach itself when we’re talking about a product consumed by children.
As a mom, I’m also offended this is what Kraft thinks I find clever. That I’m not dealing with enough right now, I'm not anxious enough, not dreading dinnertime struggles enough. This is how Kraft thinks it can best support families. Try harder.
3. It traded long-term trust for short-term attention 👀
Overit is an agency very much like the one Kraft used here. So I get it. I've been there.
I’ve been in the room when someone has an idea we know will get attention. It’s edgy, it’s funny, and it has all the ingredients for big impact. Thankfully, I’ve also had the good fortune of being in the room when those “good ideas” get scrapped because they’re actually really, really bad ideas and the originator is often over-excited, over-tired, or just misguided.
This is why it's important to work with vendors you can trust. Teams who care more about the health of your brand than their monthly engagement numbers.
70% of consumers say brand trust is more important today than in the past (Edelman).
Respect your brand equity and the intelligence of your audience. This campaign threw both away for a cheap laugh.
4. Kraft didn't defend it or apologize for it 🙈
Some people really liked the #SendNoods campaign. They found it funny, creative, and gave Kraft kudos for thinking outside the (mac n cheese) box.
But the contingent who thought otherwise were loud about it. They flooded the #SendNoods hashtag with anger and complaints. Whether you agreed with them or not, it was impossible to ignore.
But Kraft did ignore it.
They avoided the conversation, ultimately removing the campaign and scrubbing the assets from the Internet without true acknowledgement. Then they released this statement:
