Lunchables was as integral to my childhood as Wallabees, the Memphis Grizzlies, and a prematurely jaded perspective on life. I’d have a Cracker Stacker or Pepperoni Pizza pack every day at school, and I still remember that sense of activity and entertainment they brought to the lunch table. It was never just food to be eaten, but an experience to be had. I could build it and shape it and construct it any way I imagined.
So after their sales dipped for the first time in a decade, Lunchables was looking for a refresh. They contacted me* (*Goodby, Silverstein & Partners - Lunchables was not aware of my existence) to rebrand themselves for the next generation of kids.
We reimagined Lunchables as “The Toy You Can Eat” - and brought back to the forefront the elements of creativity and imagination that had always existed under the surface.
We launched the campaign on TV, with 2 spots we filmed where I’m sure everyone else films children’s TV commercials - the ruins of a medieval Belogradchik fortress in the foothills of the Balkan mountains and the scenic shorelines of Samokov in the southwest of Bulgaria.
There, we crafted larger-than-life Rocket Ships and Trojan Horses from scratch, and filmed kids eating them.
We then turned Lunchables into an actual toy - buying packs ourselves and seeing how many things we could build using just what’s in the box. We turned these into vibrant print ads crafted and shot practically.
We built everything from pianos to penguins using Lunchables - and designed building instructions for kids so they could craft them themselves.
We even made a Pinterest hub to house the instructions, and placed QR codes on Lunchables boxes that could be scanned to bring up all the toys you could build with your specific box.
And in a true childhood-dream-come-true-moment, we partnered with the most famous toy store of all time, FAO Schwarz in New York, to complete our venture into the toy aisle. There, we filled the iconic 30 Rock windows with larger-than-life Lunchables creations and filled the shelves with our edible “Lunchabuilds.”
There, we designed new toy boxes for our Lunchables featuring the food builds on the cover, and QR codes leading to the instructions for how to make them.
Our Lunchabuilds showed up everywhere from a playable Lunchables x Roblox game to Zach King’s TikTok to Times Square.
Art Director: Ryan Harper
Creative Directors: Kurt Mills, Daniel RighiTelevision:
Director: Oskar Bard
Production: Hobby Films
Post: Arcade, UPPCoverage: