“Over the past two years, we have paired Jif® with a hip-hop legend to help them with their new style of flow, positioned our Meow Mix® cats in the greatest musical genres and put Cafe Bustelo®, a bodega coffee brand, on the red carpet,” said Geoff Taner, Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer at The JM Smucker Co. “This new Folgers campaign is just the latest example of the unabashedly groundbreaking creativity that is transforming the way we approach brand storytelling.”
Folger is an iconic American brand with an iconic jingle, but when it comes to coffee, their reputation is a bit stale. Today marks a reintroduction that will reawaken a new generation of coffee lovers to what they’ve been missing. The new work strikes a radical tone filled with unabashed pride. For the first time, Folger celebrates their know-how, their deep roots in New Orleans and 35 million drinkers* who wake up in Folgers every year.
“We’ve heard from consumers that ‘Folger is not for me,” said Geoff Taner, Director of Sales and Marketing at The JM Smucker Co. “In a competitive category that has brand-rejected and labeled Folgers as their grandmother’s coffee, we shake things up by boldly choosing to openly acknowledge any negative misperceptions, then loud and clear challenge them.”
Widely known for its slogan The best part of Wakin’ Up®, launched in the early 1980s, the Folger jingle has become one of the most recognizable advertisements in American culture. But this new work features a bold new sound featuring none other than Joan Jett and the Blackhearts’ signature track, “Bad Reputation.”
“Music complemented our desire to address people’s misconceptions about Folger head-on coffee with a punk-rock rebellion that celebrates the arrogance of our 35 million annual drinkers* and continues to show the evolution of bold and unexpected creativity in The JM Smucker Co’s portfolio,” says Erica Roberts, Creative Director, PSOne, the bespoke agency solution for The JM Smucker Co. “There’s no better song to convey that feeling than Bad Reputation.”
Folger the beans are grilled, roasted and tasted by highly qualified Master Tasters in New Orleans. The deep sense of pride for his town is inherent throughout the campaign, which features local legends like ‘Trombone Shorty’, who collaborated on the music track to give it an authentic feel. New Orleans vibe, and a host of other NOLA natives, including Folger employees. More importantly, it serves as a reflection of Folger and the brand’s ongoing commitment to elevating its community.
Folgers and their roots in New Orleans
The brand is a leading employer in New Orleans with three manufacturing plants in the area providing over 750 jobs to the local community. Corn Folger not only employs generations of families, it also gives back to the community through volunteerism and service work. After Hurricane Katrina, Folger was one of the first major businesses to reopen less than a month after the storm, bringing a sense of rebuilding to the local community. These efforts have continued through relief funds, with more than $1 million in donations to support local efforts and more than 25,000 hours of community service by passionate and proud employees. Factories are closed several times throughout the year to allow employees to personally give back to the community in a variety of ways, including rebuilding homes. Since 2013, teams have supported the construction of nearly 80 homes for people in need.
“We are proud to call NOLA home and thrilled to recognize the hard work of our employees in what will become the next evolution of Folgers,” said Emily Lucci, Director of Folger Brand Marketing, The JM Smucker Co. “In a town like New Orleans, everyone is a friend and friends are like family. We are a company that cares about each other and is dedicated to providing great tasting, high quality coffee to our consumers. This new campaign aims to share that message with the world.”
The campaign will be deployed on television, online video, digital signage and audio streaming. #DamnRightItsFolgers is the proud social and influencer campaign leveraging $35M annual Folger drinkers* to spread the word. Experiential activations loom on the horizon as the campaign unfolds in 2022.
*IRI National Consumer Panel, L52 we July 11, 2021
Credits include:
Customer: The JM Smucker Company
Brand: Folger
Campaign title: Bad reputation
Agency: PS One
Agency location: New York
President, Head of Client Group: Gail Hollander
Chief Creative Officer: Erica Roberts
Creative Director, Artistic Director: Kim Davis
Creative director, editor: Alanna Watson
Senior Artistic Director: Molly Prunka
Main editor: Blake Fromkin
Senior designer: Zachary Collopy
Head of Production: Tim LeGallo
Executive Producer, Vice President: Lauren Schneidmuller
Producer: Sarah Ferrer
Chief Business Officer: Deanna Gattie
Group Account Director: Yuri Lee
VP/Account Director: Jane Picarelli
Account Supervisor: Nia Bolling
Executive account: Mike Daly
EVP / Director of Strategy: Jennifer Baldwin
VP / Strategy Director: Allie O’Shea
Senior Vice President of Consumer Marketing: Patricia Hallock
Senior Vice President of Media Relations: Alan Danzis
Vice President of Consumer Practice: Jamie Sylves
Senior Account Supervisor, Consumer Practice: Alyssa Pluchino
Senior Account Supervisor, Consumer Practice: Patrick Durkin
Digital Senior Account Supervisor: Cadence Ely Mooney
VP Project Management: Alex Orson
Manager, Project Management: Kristin Ramcharan
Director of Social Strategy: Tristan Sechi
Senior Social Strategist: Mariela Portillo
Social Strategist: Benefits of Teylor
Talent producing company: BCL Entertainment
Founder & CEO: Bettie Levy
Talent: Trombone shorts
Production company: M ss ng P eces
Director: JJ Augustavo
Director of Photography: Mego Lin
Still photographer: Erik Ian Schätzke
Managing Partner: Brian Latte
Head of Production: Rebecca Davis
Producer: Paige DeMarco
Editorial and post-production company: Port Image Company
Editor: Marc Lagana
Editor: Marc Harrington
Associate Editor: Brooke’s Flowers
Executive Creative Director: Chris Hellman
Executive producer: Jesse Schwartz
Senior post-producer: Rachel Rosenfeld
Senior Graphic Designer: David Soto
VFX Creative Director: Andre Granelli
Flame Wizards: Pete DeAndrea & Jacob Robinson
Supervise the producer’s visual effects and color: Jody Peters
Colorist: Joe Gawler
Color Wizard: Scarlett Thiele
Producer: Catherine Andrews
Senior Audio Mixer: Steve Persky
Audio Mixer: Brian Battersby
Sound designer: Elder Grant
Producer: Cammie McGarry
Music Company: Human
Direction of creation and musical editing: Mike Jurasits
Executive producer: James Dean Wells
Arrangers: Daryl Pindsdorf & James Leibow
Licensed music track: “Bad reputation”
Artist: Joan Jett and black hearts
Courtesy of Blackheart Records Group, Inc.
SOURCE The JM Smucker Co.
