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CRUNCH THROUGH MARCH

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Creative Campaign

Chosen as the winner of the 2022 VCU Brandcenter Sprint
 

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TL;DR
THE BRIEF: 

An official partner of March Madness 2023, RITZ Toasted Chips wanted to generate buzz without splurging on a TV campaign.

THE OPPORTUNITY: 

March is a stressful month with little to no outlet for relief. To cope, people mindlessly calm their nerves with crunchy snacks.

THE SOLUTION:

Help people cope with the stressors of March and its Madness with the power of the RITZ Toasted Chips Crunch Line.

the cultural truth

HISTORY

WAITING TO HAPPEN

MARCH IS

From the brackets to the Cinderella stories to watching your favorite team, there are some very high highs during March.

the problem

HOWEVER

like, really stressful

we forget what March really feels like...

IT'S STRESSFUL

with high-stakes games and countless busted brackets,

the month of March can take an emotional toll

the opportunity

we found that to cope with the stress, people

MINDLESSLY EAT CRUNCHY SNACKS

to keep them occupied and to release some tension

(both in the shoulders and the jaw)

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This is a fact! According to BioNutritional Research Group, Inc

the insight

CRUNCH THERAPY IS NEEDED

RITZ Toasted Chips can provide fans with something to crunch on

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the idea

CRUNCH THROUGH MARCH

Help fans cope with the stressors of March and its Madness with the power of the RITZ Toasted Chips Crunch Line

INTRODUCING THE                 TOASTED CHIPS

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A hotline for the stressed fans of March Madness to call in and talk to former NCAA tournament legends - the experts on crunching through March.

Just call 1-800-CRUNCHY

LISTEN TO THE
CRUNCH LINE

For fans who can't get on the phone with former legends, we have pre-recorded messages from them to help Madness viewers cope.

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00:00 / 00:45

A message from former legend Christian Laettner

THE STUNT

Crunch Line phone booths placed in locations where March Madness fans will be gathering like college stadiums, bars, and campuses.

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LIMITED RELEASE CRUNCH THERAPY BOX

Every 100th caller to the Crunch Line will receive a limited edition Crunch Therapy Box with items like a Salt & Butter woodwick candle, a RITZ Toasted Chip-shaped stress ball, limited edition Rosemary-flavored RITZ Toasted Chips, and Sour Cream & Onion massage oil (for those really stressful days).

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STRESS BAGS

For those who can't get their hands on the Crunch Therapy boxes, we included a freshness-saver sticker on all the bags of RITZ Toasted Chips with steps on how to destress. Just like Sheldon.

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MARKETING

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OOH

Physical and digital ads will promote the Crunch Line and RITZ Toasted Chips placed in locations that are near popular March Madness fan hubs.

We also wanted to take full advantage of those "crunchtime" moments during the game by having a Jumbotron ad run to remind viewers in the stadium to eat RITZ Toasted Chips, especially when stress is high.

SOCIAL

Digital ads will be posted on Instagram and, taking advantage of basketball fans' love for Twitter, we will be tweeting live Crunch Line tips.

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HEADLINES

The goal of this campaign was to generate buzz around RITZ Toasted Chips during the 2023 March Madness season. We created several headlines that replicated what we think the attention would look like during March Madness.

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BRAND TOUCHPOINT: 
THE SNEEZE SNACK

Of course throughout the four-day sprint we ate a lot of RITZ, both for stress and for hunger. Specifically, one of us ate the RITZ Crisp & Thins in the Tabasco flavor but found that he couldn't stop sneezing while eating them. We went to the internet to see if this was true across the board and found out it was! So, as a final touchpoint we introduced the Sneeze Snack. We took the Tabasco flavor and put it on RITZ Toasted Chips so fans had a reason to skip work to watch March Madness.

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THE TEAM:

MY ROLE:

ZEY A MASUNU, Art Director

SHRINIDHI VIJAY, Art Director

TORI MCCARL, Creative Brand Manager

Creative management

Brand audit & research

Strategy development

Creative concepting

Deck narrative & design

Final presentation to client

JAMES GLASS, Creative Brand Manager & Copywriter

JACKSON BAEHR, Strategist & Copywriter

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