Kraft has changed how it defines consumers who eat Velveeta, from age and gender (millennial males) to mindset (fun people who like to indulge). As such, new ads for Velveeta Shells & Cheese feature a broadly appealing pair of prospectors from the 19th century instead of a cool dude who sells remote-control helicopters at a mall.
In one TV ad breaking today, the bearded prospectors, one older and one younger, marvel at the "liquid gold" they're eating, and the young one asks the oldster how he found it. Then what looks like a campfire conversation in the woods pulls back to reveal a whole different scene entirely.
Future spots will find humor in the odd placement of frontiersmen in a modern supermarket. The campaign also includes online ads, social media marketing and a new wrinkle for the brand, radio spots, said Tiphanie Maronta, a senior brand manager at Kraft.
The ads are the first for Velveeta from Crispin Porter + Bogusky, which inherited the brand from Wieden + Kennedy in an agency consolidation late last year.