Jan. 13--Chew on this: Juicy Fruit, one of the oldest gum brands, is back on the air for the first time in more than a decade with its own TV commercials.
The quirky campaign, created by ad agency DDB Chicago, seeks to raise the profile of Chicago-based Wrigley's original gum brand, and perhaps tweak its image among consumers.
In one 15-second spot, two guys in a locker room and dressed in towels are so taken with the flavor of Juicy Fruit they are reduced to communicating by arm farts. In another commercial, two kids sharing new Starburst-flavored Juicy Fruit let their sweatshirt zippers to do the talking.
The tag line is "Juicy Fruit, so sweet you can't help but chew."
"In an effort to reinvigorate the gum category, Wrigley is putting more focus on fun as key reason to chew," said John Starkey, Wrigley's vice president of U.S. gum and mints. "Juicy Fruit, with its playful heritage, is the perfect brand to lead this charge."
The approach is a radical departure from "The Taste is Gonna Move You," a once-ubiquitous campaign branded in the neurons of anyone who watched TV during the 1980s. It also represents a marketing departure for Wrigley, which has done little to promote its legacy brands in recent years, pushing instead its more popular sugarless gums such as Orbit, Extra and 5.
Wrigley spent $178 million on measured media in the U.S. in 2013, with two-thirds of the budget for Orbit, Extra and 5, according to Kantar Media. Juicy Fruit had no measurable advertising in 2013, and just $2.6 million through the first nine months last year.
Starkey wouldn't disclose the ad budget for the campaign, but said it would air nationally on Fox, ABC and NBC.
Wrigley launched Juicy Fruit gum in 1893, just months ahead of its equally iconic Spearmint brand.
Wrigley is the world's largest gum manufacturer, followed by Deerfield-based Mondelez.
Together they represent 87 percent of U.S. gum sales, which totaled $3.14 billion through 52 weeks ended Dec. 28, according to IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm. Gum sales declined by more than 2 percent last year.
Sugarless gum accounted for 84 percent of sales, according to IRI, with Wrigley's Orbit leading the way, followed by Mondelez's top brand, Trident.
Juicy Fruit is the No. 2 regular gum with about $64 million in sales last year, up more than 13 percent from the previous year, according to IRI.
rchannick@tribpub.com
Twitter @RobertChannick
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