McCain

McCain is the largest producer of french fries in the world, and a favourite of time-pressed moms. But lately, moms have started to ask questions about the impact of preservatives and chemicals in packaged foods.

Because of this, McCain made one of the biggest decisions in its history: its products were going to be made from the same ingredients that you would use if you were making them at home.

The challenge was to spread the news about this fundamental rethinking of ingredients and create the biggest campaign the company had ever invested in.

McCain asked some tough questions about its products. When at first scientists said it was impossible to eliminate synthetic preservatives, they kept pushing until the answer came back that there was a way. It had never been done before, but it was possible.

McCain’s commitment to finding the right answers for moms’ questions became the jumping-off point for creative. The effort was called “The Questions Campaign” because it went beyond “What’s for dinner?” to address “What’s in dinner?” across its product portfolio.

“It’s All Good” launched in February, with TV, print and online. Each execution asked a simple question about what goes into the food we eat, like “Shouldn’t food be the only ingredient in food?” and “Can a nutritionist and Pizza Pockets get along?” Previously, each of McCain’s lines of business acted individually, so the umbrella campaign helped build positive equity for the master brand.

The campaign also included PR, as well as internal communications that became the centrepiece of a cross-country tour of McCain production facilities.

Every aspect of the brand was affected, and this far-reaching, long-term campaign is off to a powerful start. Sales across the key portfolios are up, and aided campaign awareness is 88%.