Twenty seconds into Opperman Weiss' new 90-second anthem spot for Chobani, it's clear something is amiss. A family in the countryside, caked in mud, trudges through fields, but Mom and Dad aren't talking. They're a farming family, but this isn't your typical farming-themed commercial, even though it opens with the almost clichéd amber waves of grain.
"This is a modern American story," Chobani CMO Peter McGuinness told Adweek on Friday. "It's a family, and we don't know what happened with them. Something happened that involved the kids. And then they work through it as a family. And they come out of it stronger and better and closer."
Here is the anthem spot:
The point is, Chobani doesn't see a pretend world—the world of most yogurt commercials. It sees the real world. And when viewers see the authentic, real-life moments in the ads, they may be more inclined to believe the realness of the brand.
It's an approach that almost turns Chobani into a lifestyle brand—if you buy the lifestyle here, you well may buy the products, too.
The spot features an original song written for the brand by artist and producer Eef Barzelay, who also appears in the spot. The song's refrain is, "To love this life is to live it naturally." The tagline itself is "Love this life," and "it's the intersection between the brand and our products and the role they play in people's lives," says McGuinness.
The 90-second anthem rolled out online Friday morning and will break in theaters Friday night before showings of The Avengers: Age of Ultron. It will also run on TV during a number of show finales this month, supported by a pair of :30s featuring the same family.
You can see those :30s here:
"We kind of went from how our yogurt is made to how our yogurt makes you feel," McGuinness adds. That kind of lifestyle play wouldn't work for every food brand, but "we think we have the authentic credibility to play in this space," he adds.
Chobani is also debuting new packaging to show the real ingredients inside each cup.
Check out the print work and credits below.
CREDITS
Client: Chobani
Founder: Hamdi Ulukaya
Chief Marketing and Brand Officer: Peter McGuinness
Director of Brand Communications: Jessica Lauria
Brand Manager: Danielle Palmer
Agency: Opperman Weiss
Art Director: Jeff Weiss
Copywriter: Paul Opperman
Executive Producer: Mark Johnston
Managing Director: Julian Shiff
Production company: RSA Films
Director: Laurence Dunmore
Executive Producer: Marjie Abrahams
President: Jules Daly
Line Producer: Michele Abbott
DOP: Brendan Galvin
Editorial: Bug Editorial
Editor: Andre Betz
Executive Producer: Caitlin Grady
Music: Duotone
Executive Producer: David Leinheardt
Creative Director: Jack Livesey
Producer: Giovanni Lobato
Musical Talent: Eef Barzelay
Songwriter: Paul Opperman
Telecine: The Mill
Head of Production: Sean Costelloe
Colorist: Fergus McCall
Color Producer: Natalie Westerfield
Audio Post: Heard City
Executive Producer: Gloria Pitagorsky
Mixer: Cory Melious
VFX: Blacksmith
Executive Producer: Charlotte Arnold
2D Lead: Daniel Morris
2D Artist: Iwan Zwarts