2024 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

Philadelphia Cream Cheese is an icon in Canada. The brand is known for its long-running tagline, “A Little Taste of Heaven.” The Philadelphia angel, the star of the campaigns, achieved minor celebrity status. And its blue and silver packaging is instantly recognizable on shelf.

But in 2022, sales were down 7.3% and market share dropped 1.5% with cheaper store brands growing rapidly. Between inflation and a dated campaign, Philly’s heavenly past wasn’t resonating with Gen Z.

Their objective was to reignite love for Philadelphia and, ultimately, ensure that when someone is in the dairy aisle picking up cream cheese, they reach for the good stuff in the iconic silver and blue package.

To get a new generation to choose a taste of heaven, they gave them a taste of hell. They turned Philadelphia’s iconic heavenly platform upside down and created a new, limited-edition Philly as hot as hell itself. This fiery red cream cheese was designed to challenge the tastebuds of the bravest Canadians and was released as a kit that included a legally binding waiver and safety gloves. This all served to get hearts racing and mouths watering well before the first taste.

Their fiery Philly measured 1,041,427 Scoville Heat Units, 208x hotter than jalapeno peppers. Instead of making a cream cheese they knew people would love, they made one to make them suffer, knowing that Gen Z loves a good challenge to their tastebuds.

Their kits sold out on Uber Eats in under three hours, and “A Little Taste of Hell” resulted in a 600% increase in social engagement. People were sharing Philadelphia on TikTok and other social platforms, creating the kind of content the internet loves to watch and share most - people suffering.

This was more than just buzz. The campaign culminated in a 15.3% increase in sales of original Philadelphia cream cheese and increased market share by 2.1%, not just recovering losses from 2022 but making gains.

Credits

Chief Creative Officer: Aaron Starkman, Mike Dubrick
Chief Strategy Officer: Sean McDonald
Executive Creative Director: Xavier Blais
Creative Director/Head of Art: Joel Holtby
Creative Director/Designer: Jake Lim
Associate Creative Director/Art Director: Nick Noh
Associate Creative Director/Copywriter: Jordan Darnbrough
Strategist: Julian Morgan, Tanvi Swar, Stacy Ross
Producers: Terri Winter, Kate Spencer, Todd Harrison, Shelby Spigelman,
Spencer Houghton, Narine Artinian
Editor: Stephen Parker
Photographer: Dave Todon
Digital Artist: Mike Halbwachs
PR: Middle Child
On-Line: The Vanity
Audio House: Vapor Music
Group Account Director: Jamie Sutherland
Account Director: Joanna Oszczak
Account Supervisor: Monica Ha
Account Director: Kai de Bruyn Kops
Group Account Director: Amy Greenspoon
Account Director: Malcolm D'Souza
Account Director: Maiuran Sivakumar
Account Manager: Nina Erceg-Gogic
Client: Kaitlin Kocsis, Keenan White, Anee Field, Jacqueline Chao,
Daniel Gotlib, Nina Patel