The brand is taking a direct shot at Reese’s, the long-time leader in peanut butter chocolate, by recruiting people named Reese to publicly praise its new peanut butter items. The Mars-owned brand launched a marketing push that includes an online pledge drive and a new ad where focus group participants — all named Reese, Rhys, or Reece — rave about the flavor and texture of Snickers Peanut Butter. The first 100 signers with the name Reese on the company’s website will get rewards, and 25 randomly selected signers win a year’s supply of the product.
The campaign builds on the brand’s larger rollout of peanut butter items, including chocolate squares, bite-sized pieces, and ice cream bars. It is a direct challenge to the established Reese’s brand, which dominates the chocolate-peanut butter category with products like cups, pieces, and seasonal shapes.
The brand in April debuted an ad called “Stuck”.
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That spot showed two climbers trapped by a rock in a canyon.
It was a nod to the film “127 Hours”.
They eased their tension with Snickers Peanut Butter.
The new ad follows focus group testers named Reese as they praise the product’s creamy texture and nutty taste. The participants eventually realize they all share a name — except for one man, Greg, who is quickly booted from the group for awkward comic effect.
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A caption notes that “Greg” is a paid actor, a disclosure the company’s lawyers required. The ad was created by BBDO New York, its longtime creative agency.
The brand is leaning heavily on texture in its marketing.
It cites survey data from Puratos, a bakery and patisserie ingredients company, which found that 71% of consumers consider texture a deal-breaker when eating. It is highlighting its use of real creamy peanut butter combined with crunchy peanuts to win on that front.
This focus on quality comes after the rival brand faced criticism from the grandson of the candy’s inventor earlier this year. He accused the company of cutting costs by using cheaper ingredients, which he said hurt the product’s taste and texture. The candy giant acknowledged the complaints and said it plans to return to its classic formulas starting next year.
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The established brand has not responded publicly to the Snickers campaign.
Its peanut butter line remains the dominant player in the category, with annual sales in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The challenger’s move is an attempt to chip away at that lead by targeting the core attribute — peanut butter quality — that it built its reputation on.
Whether the tactic works depends on whether consumers perceive a real difference in taste and texture. The Puratos data suggests many are willing to switch brands if the mouthfeel is better. For now, the brand is betting that a bunch of people named Reese can help make that case.