Kraft discovers the sexy side of cooking in the new “Let’s Get Zesty” campaign launched for the Kraft Italian Dressings range in the U.S. The promotion by BEING Los Angeles is fronted by a hot guy, the Zesty Guy (apparently, a cousin of Old Spice Guy), who unleashes his macho charisma while cooking simple dishes like salad or pizza. The product itself seems to play a supporting role in the humorous promotion, serving as a tool to help the hot cooking guy show more of his prefect body.
The campaign includes a series of comedy TV vignettes and prints, which will appear in the popular women’s magazines such as People, Glamour, Cosmopolitan and US Weekly. There’ll also be four commercials, but currently only three of them are available. They feature the hot man, a host of a parody cooking show, who explains the female audience how to add a little zest in everyday moments while preparing meals. For a better effect, to get women’s eyes glued to the screen the guy gets half-naked during the ads—his T-shirt gets wet, burnt and sucked in a mixer, revealing his nude chest and ab.
The campaign also rolls out on the dedicated website, which features the spots and invites the users to create six personalized “Zestygrams” messages using suggested phrases. The e-cards featuring the Zesty Guy can be shared with friends via social channels. The guy will also arrive to Bravo’s «Watch What Happens Live» as a guest barman, and will obviously drive some hot moments into the show.
“With this campaign, we wanted to disrupt an overly pragmatic category. It talks to women in a more entertaining way, during their ‘me’ time and taps into pop culture. It was created by women and for women, with one thing in mind: getting women zesty,” shared Patrick O’Neill, BEING Executive Creative Director.
While food is associated with sex on subconscious level, this is the first time Kraft Foods uses the erotic theme in its advertising in such an explicit fashion. In contrast, in its past hilarious effort for Kraft’s Athenos lineup, a Greek grandmother reprimands young people for showing off their sexuality.