Campbell Makes Game-Changing Moves to its Popular Chunky Line of Soups

People will see a new look from Chunky in the store, which is intended to immediately signal the new and improved line up. A new label design identifies the enhanced Chunky soup benefits.

2 Sep 2009 --- Campbell Soup Company is changing the game for Chunky soups, introducing the most comprehensive range of enhancements in the popular brand's 40-year history. The line of more than 40 Chunky soups, which also include Chunky Healthy Request and microwavable bowls, now has more soups that deliver a full serving of vegetables; more soups have 100 percent lean meat; and many soups provide a good source of protein. At the same time, Chunky continues to deliver the same great taste and hearty satisfaction that people love.

Vice president of ready-to-serve soup Michael J. Barkley says the major changes are in response to men's increasing desire to live and eat better.

"Extensive research revealed men today are facing what we call a 'male meal dilemma' - they're having trouble finding convenient, satisfying foods that taste good and that they feel good about eating," said Barkley. "We saw an opportunity for Chunky to help solve that dilemma. We took what people love about Chunky and made it even better with more high quality, nutritious ingredients that taste great and fill you up."

The line-up now includes:
• 23 soups that have a full serving of vegetables and 100 percent lean meat*
• More than 30 soups that have a full serving of vegetables
• More than 30 soups that have 100 percent lean meat
• More than 30 soups that are a good source of protein

People will see a new look from Chunky in the store, which is intended to immediately signal the new and improved line up. A new label design identifies the enhanced Chunky soup benefits, such as the full serving of hearty vegetables and 100 percent lean meat. In addition, color-coded labels help guide customers to similar soup varieties.

The revamped Chunky brand marks the second time in as many years that Campbell has overhauled a complete line of soups. Last September, the company launched a new line of Select Harvest soups made only from ingredients that people can readily recognize.
"At Campbell, we are focused on introducing major innovations that will appeal to consumers and help drive category growth," noted Barkley.

Chunky has been championing men for the past 40 years - but extensive research by the brand indicated men have evolved over that time. While still working as hard as ever, today's man is more active and involved with his family and in his community and he wants to eat and live better. These consumer insights not only drove the dramatic product improvements, but they also influenced the new Chunky advertising. The "This Is Why" television campaign takes a more emotional approach than previous ads, showing real dads working hard before coming home to their kids and enjoying a satisfying, nutritious bowl of Chunky soup to reinforce how the brand fits into their lifestyle. In addition, the print and radio ads also reinforce why Chunky is better than ever.

But it's not just men that Chunky is trying to reach this year. For the first time, Campbell is running print advertising in women's magazines for Chunky soup and it also is reaching women via female oriented television and radio programming.
"Women not only make the majority of purchase and meal decisions for the household, but they actually consume about half of the Chunky soup that is brought into the home," said senior brand manager Douglas Brand. "We took a fresh new approach with our media plan to speak to both men and women. People can expect to see Chunky ads during NFL games and in many other surprising places."

Women will see the new Chunky television spots airing during "female friendly" day part television programming and they will see print ads in magazines such as Better Homes and Gardens, Cosmopolitan and Woman's Day.

Campbell is continuing to utilize the NFL in its in-store, promotional and online activities to promote the Chunky brand. In addition, the company has enlisted Hall of Fame quarterback and Chunky fan Troy Aikman as a spokesperson to bring the "male meal dilemma" to life from an active dad's perspective. His role includes an appearance in three issues of Men's Health as part of a new partnership the Chunky brand has with the magazine. The Click for Cans™ competition continues to be an important part of the Campbell's Chunky/NFL Tackling Hunger program, an initiative that aims to fight hunger in America by generating food donations to Feeding America food banks and raising awareness about hunger relief.

This marks the first time in more than a decade that Chunky ads are not featuring NFL players in television advertising. Barkley noted that while the brand has enjoyed a great relationship with the league and its players for the last decade, it is important to focus this year's advertising campaign on the product improvements and show the everyday guy that new Chunky fits his lifestyle.

"Our longstanding use of NFL players in our advertising has served us well in building our brand to what it is today," said Barkley. "But to communicate the breakthrough changes to Chunky, we realized that we had to take a new approach with our advertising that signal to consumers that something is different. That is why we're making such a major change to the ad campaign and we're really excited about the new direction."

According to Barkley, the new television and print advertising received extremely positive feedback from consumers during testing and resonated with both men and women.

As part of its partnership with the Chunky brand, Men's Health is launching a new microsite to help people find more ways to live and eat better at www.ChunkySoupGamePlan.com. The site, which will be live starting September 8, 2009, is loaded with interactive tips, tools and videos to help regular guys take simple steps to lead a better life, such as making good food choices and staying active. Visitors also can enter a sweepstakes to win a trip to Super Bowl XLIV in South Florida in February, 2010.