Kraft Macaroni & Cheese has been a beloved staple in North American households for over 50 years. However, in the mid 2010s the brand underwent an overhaul in an attempt to follow healthier food trends. As a result, people stopped caring about the brand and sales declined. And to make matters worse, there was also some new competition that threatened Kraft’s spot as top cheese of the macaroni world. So, we set out to reignite the passion and love for the brand in a bold way that would grab attention.

Though love for Kraft Macaroni had dwindled in recent years, one fact remained true: North Americans are nostalgic and protective over the iconic dish. So our plan was to unlock their forgotten love for original Kraft Macaroni & Cheese by sabotaging ourselves with a brand new flavour we knew people would absolutely hate - Pumpkin Spice.

People love to hate pumpkin spice. And there’s nothing more iconic than Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte. So we launched Pumpkin Spice Macaroni and Cheese, a parody of Starbucks' iconic seasonal latte. We knew full well North Americans would not be okay with this. We fully expected them to rush to the defence of the Kraft Macaroni and Cheese they know and love - the original one they’ve loved for decades. So we stood by and watched the debate rage on. Haters hated. Others were intrigued. Some were even into pumpkin spice. Most importantly, everyone was talking about Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.

We kicked off the campaign on the first official day of Fall, September 22. We incited a ton of buzz with a single social post that showed the new Kraft Macaroni & Cheese in a not-so-subtle, Starbucks’-inspired white cup. The post asked people to join a waitlist for when the product dropped later in October.

We also placed OOH ads in hyper-targeted intersections outside of busy Starbucks locations. The ads used headlines like, “This ain’t no basic batch” to troll the coffee chain. Our creative even mirrored classic Starbucks and #Basic culture tropes, mimicking their fall-inspired tabletop product shots right down to the mini gourds. We even made sure to carefully style our model in the fall essentials wardrobe - chunky knit scarves and cozy flannels.

Then, we added fuel to the reignited fire by engaging with consumers, others brands and even celebrities on Twitter.

As expected, people lost their minds over it. While some loved it, most were predictably outraged over the new flavour. And it wasn’t just consumers who voiced their opinions. Celebrities and even celebrity chefs like Gordon Ramsay, David Chang, and Tom Colicchio jumped into the conversation. From there, the campaign continued to spread like wildfire across North America. The new flavour was such a hot topic of conversation that it dominated social media and news headlines, catching the attention of Al Roker, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers and millions more.

And our plan worked. The hate people felt for the new flavour unlocked their love for the original. Many agreed that Kraft Macaroni & Cheese shouldn’t be messed with at all, that it’s perfect the way it's always been. And people weren’t just talking about it, they were even buying it at levels unseen in years.