An overview of case studies and viral advertising trends in the food and confectionary sector in 2013 - curated by http://joinvan.com/

1. Food & Confectionary Social Video Insight
2013

2. INTRODUCTION
Welcome to VAN’s monthly insight report on what’s hot in the world of social video in
the food and confectionary sector.
The insights in this document are comprised of:
• Brand insights
• Viral video case studies
• UGC insights
• YouTuber insights
• Blogger insights
• Search stats & insights
VAN’s social video insights are collated with the help of our TubeRank app
Flickr photo: APM Alex

3. BRAND TRENDS: FOOD
Key brand observations
Read all about it! The rise of the eco-conscious consumer.
The rise in popularity of the food blogging community has given
consumers a massive platform on which to share their opinions and
make their voices heard. There are now thousands of recipes, reviews,
videos and images being uploaded to the web every day, meaning that
information relating to the food industry is more accessible than ever.
This has lead to a rise in consumer concerns about food, with increasing
emphasis being placed on healthy eating, organic produce and
sustainable farming.
As a result, brands like Chipotle and McDonald’s are trying to shake off
their junk food image, highlighting eco-friendly projects and community
initiatives in an attempt to appeal to a new generation of socially-aware,
uber-informed internet veterans who have access to a plethora of
information about what they’re putting into their mouths.
Source: Flickr - Pam Loves Pie

4. BRAND TRENDS: CONFECTIONARY
Key brand observations
Are you snacking comfortably? Then we’ll begin...
2013 has seen a rise in branded storytelling, with ads often
being released in installments as part of a wider campaign to
build on a branded concept. This trend is particularly true of
confectionary companies, which tend to be amongst the
most playful sectors of the food industry.
Less concerned with pushing nutritional benefits,
confectionary brands are marketed as fun treats for the
whole family. As such there is a stronger emphasis on
gimmicks, humour and youth / internet culture. We’ve seen
incredibly successful campaigns this year from the likes of
Oreo, (who focused on generating a mass social debate
over which part of the biscuit was better, the cookie or the
crème) and KitKat, who partnered with Google, tapping into
the popular YouTube trend of spoof Apple iPhone videos.

5. CASE STUDIES - Insight into trending ads in the food sector in 2013
Chipotle: The Scarecrow
(Sep 2013)
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Shares: 138,787 | Views: 6,264,084
Share Ratio = 1:45
Film
Conversation Triggers:
Epic
Moving
Topical
Educational
Gaming
Mexican food chain, Chipotle, released a beautifully animated short film designed
to highlight the brand’s concern for sustainable farming. Set to the haunting
soundtrack of Willy Wonka’s ‘Pure Imagination’ and featuring a fantastical vision
of a dystopian future, the video has all the right cues to tug on the heartstrings
and get your emotions flowing.
The ad was designed to promote the launch of a free iOS game where users
could save the scarecrow from the factory on their smart phone or tablet.
#Wins:
The high production values and epic nature of the ad appeals to film fans and
makes it a pleasure to watch and share. Plus, the moving storyline plays on
topical concerns around animal cruelty, factory farming and sustainable living,
creating plenty of conversation triggers.
Music plays a powerful role in viral sharing and by giving a new lease of life to a
classic song and making the track available for fans to download from iTunes,
Chipotle broadened the appeal of the ad making it accessible to a wider audience
demographic of pop culture fans.
Communities of Interest:
Music
The Campaign:
Activist
#Fails:
The anti-industrial food theme is somewhat at odds with the Chipotle brand, which
despite stressing its emphasis on sustainable farming, is still ultimately a mass
chain restaurant.
The message conveyed by the video appears to endorse vegetarianism and
independent, local eating establishments – a concept that doesn’t fit with the
Chipotle brand. For this reason the video attracted a large amount of criticism with
some accusing it of being a flagrant attempt by advertisers to manipulate the
emotions of viewers and present the brand as something it’s not, giving rise to
such parody videos as ‘Honest Scarecrow’.

6. CASE STUDIES - Insight into trending ads in the food sector in 2013
Wonderful Pistachios:
Psy | Get Crackin (Feb 2013)
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Shares: 31,776 | Views: 3,993,532
Share Ratio = 1:125
Pop culture
Conversation Triggers:
Referential
Topical
LOL
WTF
Internet culture
As part of its 2013 Super bowl campaign, the Wonderful Pistachios brand
released ‘Get Crackin’, a music video parody of Gangnam Style. The video
featured Psy donning a sequined jacket in the brand’s trademark pistachio
green shade, strutting his stuff to a remix of the K-pop classic in front of a
group of backing dancers dressed as giant nuts!
#Wins:
The brand managed to ride on the back of the viral wave of the most
popular YouTube video of all time. Gangnam Style became a historic piece
of pop culture and the existing buzz around the song, not to mention the
huge number of UGC tributes gave the video a massive kick to get it
noticed.
The catchy song, complete with its topicality and the random WTF nature of
the video provided some key sharing triggers and generated a huge twitter
buzz around the ad.
Communities of Interest:
Music
The Campaign:
Geek
It’s not the first time Wonderful Pistachios has capitalised on topical memes
either. The brand name has become synonymous with trending YouTube
virals with tributes to Keyboard cat, Honey Badger and more recently the
Prancercise Lady.
#Fails:
When piggybacking on a viral trend timing is everything and unfortunately
for Wonderful Pistachios, the brand’s Gangnam Style tribute was just too
little too late. With the official video being released in July, the Superbowl ad
came nearly 7 months after K-pop first took the web by storm, significantly
reducing its viral impact.

7. CASE STUDIES - A snapshot of viral ads in the food sector in 2013
End Marmite Neglect (Aug 2013)
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Shares - 21,291 | Views - 502,538 | Share ratio - 1:24
Communities
• General interest
Triggers
• LOL
• Referential
McDonald's: Minion Madness (Jun 2013)
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Communities
• Film
• Pop Culture
Triggers
• LOL
• Referential
• Topical
Cheerios: Just Checking (May 2013)
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Communities
• Parenting
Triggers
• LOL
• Kawaii
Marmite launched a spoof video featuring rescue squads visiting homes to remove
neglected jars hidden away in kitchen cupboards.The humorous ad parodied the
work of animal protection teams like the RSPCA, causing numerous complaints
from viewers claiming the video was making a joke of animal cruelty.
The controversy acted as an effective conversation and sharing trigger, dividing
public opinion and cleverly playing on the brand’s ‘Love it, or Hate it’ slogan.
Shares - 20,780 | Views - 4,924,966 | Share ratio - 1:237
McDonald’s has a long history of using upcoming children’s films to promote its
Happy Meals and Minion Madness provides a good example of the mutual benefits
of such partnerships to both brands and film distributors.
The plastic toy based on the cute yellow side kicks from Despicable Me 2 became
highly collectable, with customers lining up down the road hoping to get their hands
on the latest figurine and the frenzy became a viral talking point for the video
across social media channels and online news sites.
Shares - 47,801 | Views - 4,508,269 | Share ratio - 1:94
Cheerios released an ad featuring an interracial family. Despite the fact at the ad
itself wasn’t controversial it demonstrates the impact that YouTube comments can
have on a campaign.
The string of racist posts on the video channel triggered a storm of debate that was
picked up by media outlets word wide, leading to extensive coverage across social
media channels and giving rise to a string of UGC reaction videos and spoof
tributes.

8. CASE STUDIES - Insight into trending ads in the confectionary sector in 2013
OREO Separator Machine
(February-March 2013)
The Campaign:
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Following the success of its "Whisper Fight" Super Bowl spot, Oreo
continued the Cookie Vs Crème debate by launching the ‘Separator
Machine’ campaign. The brand produced a four-part series of YouTube
mockumentaries that followed the invention of ingenious cookie separation
devices, clocking up a combined total of over 5 million views. The first
installment told the story of a genius inventor and his one-man-mission to
create a machine to remove the crème from his precious cookie.
#Wins:
Shares: 174,482* | Views: 5,402,632*
Share Ratio = 1:31
Communities of Interest:
Internet culture
Student
Conversation Triggers:
LOL
Epic
Geek
Oreo tapped into insight that consumers tended to fall into two categories,
those who prefer the cookie part of the Oreo biscuit, and those who
preferred the crème.
By building on the cookie vs crème debate they generated conversations
across social media channels, encouraging people to pick a side. The
campaign formed part of an integrated social media push asking consumers
to upload photos to Instagram and Twitter and tag them with #cookiethis or
#cremethis. The brand’s creative team then recreated and sculpted their
photo submissions using actual OREO cookies or creme.
The separator machine series worked so well because it’s comedy concept
and the obsessive attention to details of the machines appealed to the geek
community. And by creating a series of ads that were released in
installments over a month long period, the brand was able to get extra
mileage from the campaign, keeping fans looking for the next installment.
WTF
*across all videos in series

9. TOP VIRAL VIDEOS - CONFECTIONARY
KitKat: Android KITKAT 4.4
(September
2013)
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Shares: 30,194 | Views: 2,334,162
Share Ratio = 1:77
The Campaign:
In September 2013, Google announced a somewhat unlikely partnership
with Nestle, revealing that it will be calling its next Android operating
system KitKat.
The KitKat Facebook, Google+ and Twitter pages were rebranded to
feature the little Android mascot covered in chocolate and KitKat
released a hilarious spoof video promoting the launch of the new
Android KITKAT 4.4.
The ad spot featured the “Chief Breaks Officer” excitedly talking through
all the design features that went into making the chocolate bar the
ultimate snack product, cleverly poking fun at Apple’s well-known
product introduction videos.
#Wins:
Communities of Interest:
Geek
Conversation Triggers:
Referential
Topical
LOL
Internet culture
With the imminent release of the new iPhone 5s just weeks away, the
internet was rife with news stories speculating about the new handset,
making the timing of the ad particularly relevant and capitalising on the
existing media hype.
The newsworthy nature of the unlikely partnership between the
chocolate brand and Google acted as a conversation point for the ad,
generating over 30,000 shares for the video in the first 24 hours of its
release. This, combined with the fact that Apple parodies were trending
in the weeks leading up to the release of the latest phone provided
plenty of conversation triggers around the amusing parody.

10. CASE STUDIES - A snap shot of viral ads in the confectionary sector in 2013
Cadbury: Marriage Proposal Gone Wrong (Aug 2013)
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Communities
• Internet Culture
Triggers
• LOL
• WTF
Skittles Figurines (June 2013)
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As part of its ‘Not So Sweet’ campaign, Cadbury released a hoax video of a marriage
proposal gone wrong. The clip of an unfortunate young man getting hit over the head in
a public mall after his would-be fiancée cruelly rejected his proposal was uploaded to
YouTube with many believing, thanks in part to the terrible quality and shaky recording
skills, that it was a genuine proposal gone wrong.
In fact the hilarious clip was part of a clever viral marketing stunt by Cadbury, the only
clue being the Bournville branding on the side of a mall train that drove through the
scene.
Shares - 1,472 | Views - 196,762 | Share ratio - 1:134
Communities
• Internet Culture
Triggers
• WTF
• LOL
M&M'S "Love Ballad" (February 2013)
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Shares - 7,546 | Views - 1,000,102 | Share ratio - 1:132
Communities
• Pop Culture
• Music
Triggers
• LOL
The Skittles brand is famed for its quirky ad campaigns including the ‘Sorting Machine’,
(a device designed to sort the candies by colour that went viral after being picked up on
Reddit) and ‘Touch: Cat’ (a video video featuring a cat that licks a viewers finger once it
is placed on screen).
The brand continued the interactive theme with ‘Smash the Rainbow’, another video
designed to encourage audience engagement by asking viewers to choose objects from
a table to smash in the hope that they might reveal some skittles.
Shares - 44,235 | Views - 2,821,160 | Share ratio - 1:64
M&M’s have become well known for comedic ads involving personified chocolate
characters and the brand continued the popular theme with its 2013 Super Bowl
commercial.
The video featured Glee star, Naya Rivera, being wooed by the red member of the
candy family. Set to the soundtrack of ‘I would do Anything for Love’, the little chocolate
character embarks on ever more complicated missions to impress her, but it turns out
that she’s using him for just one thing… his body.

11. UGC TRENDS
Key UGC Observations
Online hacks = IRL snacks
‘How to’, ‘Life hacks’ and fun educational videos have become
a popular UGC theme in the food and drinks sector on
YouTube.
Packed full of interesting random facts and fun tips on how to
get creative with everyday kitchen items, these videos work well
because they are easily accessible and encourage viewer
interaction. They appeal to a wide range of online communities
and have plenty of viral triggers because they prompt people to
try things out at home or share ideas with friends.
Many popular viral sites like BuzzFeed now have dedicated
channels that specialise in this type of content. As opposed to
traditional cookery videos, which provide practical ‘how to’ tips
for the kitchen, the focus of this new viral food trend is on the
novelty factor. The emphasis being to share funny, quirky, food
based experiments that make amusing party tricks and act as
conversation triggers across the social video sphere.

12. UGC TRENDS
Key UGC Observations
With great power comes great shareability
The power of UGC content on brands is not something to be
underestimated. 2013 has seen a wide range of YouTube
commentary, spoof videos and comedy mashups. Whatever the
format, user-generated content extends the reach of an original
advert and, in some cases, can significantly impact on the success of
a campaign.
The inadvertent online debate caused by the Cheerios ad, ‘Just
Checking’ makes for an interesting case in point. There was nothing
controversial about the ad itself, but the string of racist YouTube
comments reacting to the fact that the video featured a biracial
couple prompted a barrage of reactionary videos on YouTube. The
most significant of which was, ‘Kids React to Controversial Cheerios
Commercial’, by The Fine Brothers, which to a large extent was
responsible for the viral reach of the original ad.
A similar effect was seen when the Funny or Die team released a
parody video highlighting some of the overtly exploitative advertising
messaging in Chipotle’s Scarecrow ad. The remix significantly
contributed to the amount of media coverage the brand’s campaign
received, prolonging its viral impact , (although possibly not in a way
that was beneficial for the Chipotle brand).

13. TRENDING UGC VIDEOS - FOOD & CONFECTIONARY
MisterEpicMann: How Animals Eat Their Food
Kbcreativelab: Porn Sex vs Real Sex
Mark Rober: Watermelon Smoothie Hack
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Views = 84,031,188 | Shares = 1,459,051 | (1:57)
Views = 84,031,188 | Shares = 1,459,051 | (1:57)
Views = 2,636,814 | Shares = 11,736 | (1: 244)
Viral triggers = LOL/ WTF/
Viral triggers = LOL/ WTF/ NSFW
Viral triggers = LOL
John Adamson: Spinning Chocolate Joy
Sesame Street: Me Want It (But Me Wait)
BuzzFeedVideo: The Guide To Trading Candy
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Views = 2,291,850 | Shares = 15,691 | (1: 146)
Views = 1,463,223 | Shares = 40271 | (1: 36)
Views = 2,286,966 | Shares = 60,638 | (1:38)
Viral triggers = Epic / Talent
Viral triggers = LOL
Viral triggers = LOL

14. TOP FOOD AND CONFECTIONARY YOUTUBE CHANNELS
Vertical
Channel
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Stats
EPIC MEAL TIME
Subscribers:
5,726,754
Views:
613,737,995
NICKO’S KITCHEN
Subscribers:
505,415
Views:
91,880,555
MY CUPCAKE ADDICTION
Subscribers:
279,832
Views:
29,242,009
Description
A Canadian YouTube cooking show known for creating extremely
high-calorie meals, most popularly from meat (with particular
emphasis on bacon) and including alcohol (especially Jack
Daniels).
One of the biggest online cookery communities in the world started
by personable Aussie, Rob Nixon. Self-named the home of
YouTube cooking. Huge channel with food tips, handy hints and
recipe ideas.
An informative guide on how to decorate Cupcakes and Cake
Pops like the professionals in free, easy to follow tutorials. With
cute, fun frosting techniques and ideas for all kinds of occasion,
this probably one for the ladies out there.
JOY OF BAKING
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Subscribers:
189,986
Views:
39,222,401
BUZZFEED FOOD
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Subscribers:
279,832
Views:
29,242,009
A demonstration of techniques, tips and recipes from Stephanie
Jaworski, an American-Canadian baker with a passion for all
things baking.
Working hand in hand with the website of the same name,
Buzzfeed Food mainly concerns itself with food trends and crazy
experiments as well as exploring food around the world, nutrition
and lots and lots of eggs.

15. TOP FOOD AND CONFECTIONARY BLOGS
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Serious Eats
Bakers Royale
Honey and Jam
Thug Kitchen
A food blog focused on
sharing food enthusiasm
through online conversation,
multiple blogs, and video.
A cozy corner where baking
meets random thoughts and
musings.
Photos, repipe ideas and
general foodie chit chat from
22 year old Hannah Queen.
Where your narrow dietary
minded ass gets thinking
about healthy food.
Education and
entertainment.
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Top with Cinnamon
Chow
Chasing Delicious
Finger, Fork + Knife
An awesome teenage
baking blog with recipes,
food photography and food
styling.
Recipes, cooking techniques,
and news, updated daily.
Utterly devoted to the
pleasure of food and drink.
Food + science + more. Your
one stop shop for everything
in your kitchen.
Recipes that excite, nourish
and inspire with a focus on
wholesome ingredients and
high-nutrition.

16. TOP TWITTER FEEDS - FOOD & CONFECTIONARY
A round up of some of the most influential Twitter personalities in the Food and
Confectionary sector worth a follow!
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@Foodimentary
Followers:
861,640
Food, Facts, & Fun. Guaranteed to pepper your day with fun food
facts! Impress others with your food knowledge!
Followers:
433,198
The ultimate food site for people who love to eat.
Followers:
18,386
All about making and decorating beautiful cakes, sweet cupcakes
and delicious cookies.
Followers:
16,088
Food Blogger. Recipe Developer. Picture Taker. Lover of all things
beautiful.
Followers:
2,730
The Good Food Network is a completely new way for you to
discover fantastic food and drink in your local area and beyond
Followers:
9,516
Dom Ramsey, editor of Chocablog, Chief Chocolate Officer of
@CocoaRunners & Co-Founder of World Chocolate Guide.
Followers:
22,995
Writer, baker, snapper and author.
Foodimentary
@epicurious
epicurious
@CakeJournal
Louise
@bakingaddiction
Jamie
@GoodFoodNet
Good Food
@chocablog
Chocablog
@dan_lepard
Dan Lepard

17. SEARCH TRENDS IN THE FOOD & CONFECTIONARY SECTOR
A comparison of the volume of food related internet searches across the web and YouTube
during the past 3 years
Data from Google Trends has shown a 30% increase in the number of food and drinks related internet searches during the
past 3 years, with noticeable annual trends related to public holidays visible in web searches.
Interest in food and drinks across the net tends to peak in both November and December, coinciding with Thanks Giving and
Christmas and reflecting a rise in searches for recipe ideas, cooking tips, restaurants and bars. Whilst YouTube search has
seen a similar rise in interest in the food and drinks sector over time, data shows that the site is less prone to seasonal peaks
and troughs.
Weekly trends are also visible in web searches across the food and drinks sector, with a noticeable peak in interest at the
weekend reflecting increased search for recipes, and food related recreational activities.
40%
30%
20%
10%
Food & Drink web search
Sep '13
Aug '13
Jul '13
Jun '13
May '13
Apr '13
Mar '13
Feb '13
Jan '13
Dec '12
Nov '12
Oct '12
Sep '12
Aug '12
Jul '12
Jun '12
May '12
Apr '12
Mar '12
Feb '12
Jan '12
Dec '11
Nov '11
Oct '11
Sep '11
Aug '11
Jul '11
Jun '11
May '11
Apr '11
Mar '11
Feb '11
Jan '11
Dec '10
-10%
Nov '10
0%
Oct '10
Interest over time *
50%
Food & Drink Youtube search
* See Google Trends for details on how this is calculated

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awesome shareable video. VAN’s 4 core services are: #KittenCamp (providing learning), TubeRank
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work, read this Forbes review or visit www.JoinVAN.com.
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