Canada Bread rises up on social media
In addressing ‘wheat belly’, company goes for the belly laughs
Comedian Gerry Dee gets dirty looks and sworn at when he dumps handfuls of bread into smoothies ordered by customers in a new hidden camera ad campaign.
No one seems persuaded to try the concoction when he explains that whole-grain bread has plenty of necessary nutrients in it.
But Maple Leaf Foods and its bread division Canada Bread hope this new social media campaign will convince consumers that the sandwich staple doesn’t deserve its bad rap.
And bread sales matter in Hamilton, now home to Canada’s biggest bakery plant where nearly a quarter of a million loaves are baked a day.
Maple Leaf is embarking on its first major spend on digital advertising. The ads, featuring Dempster’s bread, will “pre-roll” on YouTube before viewers get to see the video they clicked on. It’s YouTube’s TrueView ad format that allows users to click off after five seconds.
That means these ads must grab viewers right off the top.
Humour is a great way to do that, says Jerry Sen, director of digital and social marketing at Maple Leaf.
“We wanted to make it fun and entertaining but at the same time deliver our message.”
That message is that bread is not causing expanded waistlines and ill health, but that it’s part of a balanced diet. Being serious about delivering that message probably wasn’t going to work, says Sen.
“We want to evoke an emotion. Humour works, especially in the digital space because it captures attention.”
But for those in the bread industry over the last few years, there has been little to laugh about. The lowcarb fad about a decade ago cut bread sales drastically. Suddenly, bread went from hero to villain. Food companies scrambled to produce low-carb options.
Now, the enemy appears to be wheat. At least for those who think the grain is responsible for a whole host of woes. The bestseller Wheat Belly blames it for everything from belly bloat to headaches to digestive woes.
“There has been a lot of demonizing bread as a whole,” said Sen. “It’s our responsibility to provide information that bread is a healthy option. There has been an attack on the category.”
Last year, Maple Leaf CEO Michael McCain blamed falling bread consumption for lower-than-expected first quarter earnings. He cited changes in dietary trends, demographic shifts and cost-conscious consumers for the drop-off.
“The elephant in the room is bread consumption is down. And it’s down around the world,” McCain was reported to have said at the time.
“I believe these things are infinitely addressable with good marketing. Bread has been around for 2,000-plus years.”
That’s good news to the city, which hopes to see Canada Bread eventually employ about 300 people in its $100-million bakery in the Red Hill Industrial Park.
The social media drive is combined with television advertising and a new website featuring recipes, videos and nutritional quizzes.
Manish Kacker, an associate professor of marketing at McMaster University, says Maple Leaf was smart not to directly address the criticisms of wheat or bread. He says research proves that trying to deny or counter criticism only more strongly associates your brand with that negativity for consumers.
Instead, brands need to build positive associations.
The Dempster’s ad works, says Kacker, because it’s funny and humour puts viewers in a good mood. That means they will be more likely to share it in their social networks.
“Advertising effectiveness in social media is not about repetition but the generation of word-ofmouth effects, comments and passing it on … The company can then respond. What Canada Bread is doing is a smart strategy.”
But while cultivating social media is necessary for corporations, it is a treacherous road. To get attention, ads must be provocative but when they’re provocative, you risk a backlash. And ultimately, the company is not in control of the message.
For instance, McDonalds used Twitter to ask its customers for good stories about its restaurants. The “conversation” quickly turned negative. Rogers paid for a hashtag promoting a new service to be on top of trending topics for 24 hours but the tweets were largely bashing the company rather than celebrating it.
“The nature of the beast is that in social media you lose control,” says Kacker. “Companies are still trying to figure out how to use it. There is an element of trial and error in it all.”
As usual in consumer marketing, the campaign will be targeted to moms. A second video will come out in the spring featuring Dee at a day camp trying to feed grilled cheese (minus the bread) to disgruntled kids.
Sen says the campaign is generating traction, though he can only laugh when asked if the hope is for it to go viral. Of course it is, but Maple Leaf has little control over that.
Pat Elliott-Moyer, a registered dietitian with the City of Hamilton, thinks the Maple Leaf campaign is “fantastic” because she says bread is not a culprit.
“We need to rethink where we are being led. We need to go back to basics and not be led astray. Humour is a good way to do that.”
Elliott-Moyer says whole-grain breads are part of a healthy diet. She says diets that completely cut out a food group are not balanced and that those looking to lose weight or stay healthy should focus primarily on portion control instead.
“There is no one magic bullet and there is no one demon.”
In f act, she says carbohydrates are necessary to fuel the body and mind and whole-grain breads are a good choice. If digesting wheat is a problem for bread eaters, there are plenty of other choices, including barley, whole oats, whole rye, spelt and brown rice. mmacleod@thespec.com 905-526-3408 | @ meredithmacleod