In July 2010, Kraft’s Athenos brand was in a difficult position. Their hummus business was in steady decline, having lost national sales volume in 2007, 2008 and 2009. The brand was at risk of being delisted from retailer shelves if they couldn’t change that trajectory, so we needed to increase sales quickly.

Our target consumer was a demographic that was social, exploring new ideas and developing new tastes. Through research, we discovered some interesting beliefs about what makes food valuable. We learned Greek food at its best was inseparably linked to family and devotion; that all food was enhanced by care on the part of the person making it; and that ethically made, quality foods were most valued by our target. Endemic to all of these values was the idea of respect.

Respect was rooted in truths about our product. We made our hummus the right way with 100% olive oil, unlike competitors. Our goal became to convey a simple message: Athenos is made with respect.From that determination, Yiayia was born. She is an old-fashioned grandmother who’s not shy about giving her opinion on everything, especially what you eat. That can sometimes be a bit awkward, but she gets away with it because it comes from love. Yiayia represents old-World Greek values, and most importantly she represents preparing food the right way. She won’t hesitate to confront anyone who doesn’t live up to that. There is, therefore, no better sign of quality than her approval.We created videos, which ran on TV and online, structured carefully to maintain the brand’s own authenticity. The spots showed our target in everyday situations with a sell-happy voiceover suggesting, “Let’s see what Yiayia thinks.” Yiayia bluntly disapproved of everything she did except serving Athenos hummus. Yiayia spread from Twitter, to YouTube to USA Today to Conan O’Brien’s show.Five months into our 12-month campaign, Athenos had already experienced a startling leap forward. Hummus sales were up 10% nationally and 13% in markets where TV was running.Yiayia and her values were a simple idea that built a new kind of brand love in an existing category. Our collaborative and rigorous strategic approach focused on values versus trends and was central to creative development. Yiayia was proof that traditional advertising can be as relevant as ever when it’s genuinely insightful, interesting and embraceable to consumers and culture.