KD (Kraft Dinner) recently unveiled a rebrand in Canada and launched a campaign called Cancel Coverage. It celebrates the joy of missing out by offering to compensate customers who cancel restaurant reservations and cook mac and cheese.
From a marketing perspective, I totally understand tapping into cultural insights to connect with your audience and sell a product. Watching TV with comfort food sounds great, but the messaging contradicts everything I have read about the loneliness epidemic.
When I open Instagram, I constantly see disconcerting memes about cancelling plans to scroll through your phone. How did we get here? In Sherry Turkle’s book Alone Together, she observed how technology isolates us and that was over ten years ago! Sure, scrolling through a rabbit hole might feel unexpectedly fun, but it’s pretty boring compared to going to a hotspot.
This messaging also seems odd during a pandemic which hasn’t ended yet. After subscribing to additional streaming services to entertain myself at home, my goal isn’t to binge watch more. I’d rather go out and catch up with friends!
If a friend tested positive for COVID, I wouldn’t be relieved and celebrate with Kraft Dinner; I would try to make alternate plans. When I cancelled my trip to Miami due to concerns about COVID, I didn’t rush to make mac and cheese. I rescheduled it and tried amazing restaurants when it was safer!
I understand promoting a cozy dinner going into a cold winter, but I don’t think Canadians have so many societal pressures and responsibilities that they can’t find a good time to make their favourite meal unless someone cancels. It’s safe to say that KD is everyone’s guilty pleasure and backup for life!
KD’s Cancel Coverage ad stood out because a food brand joined the conversation around staying home. Advertising games made me realize how you can target introverts, but I’m not a fan of how Kraft Heinz encourages anti-social behaviour through this campaign. Aligning the brand with The Golden Bachelor was a better idea, so it’s not surprising it got more engagement on Instagram!
What do you think about the Kraft Heinz ad and the memes about cancelling plans to stay in? The brand got some negative feedback on RedFlagDeals. Leave a comment or send me a message!