New Friend Request video
A.1 Sauce
Issue 32 | September 2014
Agency
CP+B LA
Creative Team
VP/Executive Creative Director Jason Gaboriau VP/Creative Director Robin Fitzgerald Associative Creative Director Mike Kohlbecker Associative Creative Director Dafna Garber Senior Art Director Mary Dauterman Senior Copywriter Chelsea O’Brien Photographers Mike Kohlbecker Mary Dauterman Food Stylist Debi Halpert Storosh
Production Team
VP/Director of Video Production Kate Hildebrant Senior Integrated Producer Katie Porter Post Production & City PLUS Productions, Los Angeles
Other Credits
VP/Group Account Director Kate Frazier VP/Account Director Leslie Repetto Content Supervisor Spencer Holmes Content Managers Eric Alexander Robert Bevilacqua Business Affairs Lydia Tirpak Cognitive Anthropologist Allie Cole
Date
May 2014
Background
The makers of A.1 Steak Sauce had discovered that people were not just eating it with steak but with chicken, pork and vegetables too. So they dropped the word 'steak' from the name and redesigned the label. Then they launched New Friend Request video a campaign called 'For Almost Everything. Almost,' aimed at lovers of all foods from Media sirloin to shitake.
Idea
USA To announce the end of A.1.'s exclusive relationship with steak, the idea was to use the medium many people used when they publically ended their personal relationships. Facebook.
The A.1 'New Friend Request' video was in some ways a social commentary on how relationships worked in the era of social networks.
On an emotionally relatable level, the video told the story of how A.1 started connecting with other foods on Facebook, ending its one-to- one relationship with steak.
When Steak invited A.1 to dinner at Jack's Steakhouse, A.1 replied, 'Already got plans with lobster that night.'
Then, later, 'You're still important to me. I just think we both need to see other foods.'
Results
A.1.'s changing Facebook relationship status resonated with the public and the video quickly reached 1.32 million YouTube views. The press picked up on the social commentary as well and wrote multiple headlines mentioning 'A.1.'s conscious uncoupling of steak'.
While it's too early to share any tangible results, people saw and understood the message: A.1. is no longer in an exclusive relationship with 'steak' and people now have the freedom to sauce however they want.
Our Thoughts
What is funny about this piece is it is so knowing. All the details of a Facebook break-up are faithfully captured, the way the cursor hovers over ‘Not Now’ before clicking on to ‘Confirm’ the friend request from pork. How many faithless partners have done the same knowing what the consequences will be.
Steak’s wounded messages are so human. Normally, trying to anthropomorphise food would be a recipe for disaster but here CP+B haven’t so much captured the zeitgeist as nailed it.