Dive Brief:
- Philadelphia Cream Cheese debuted a new platform, “Really Philly Good,” to position its brand as a kitchen staple, per details shared with Marketing Dive.
- Central to the platform is Phillyboy, a cowboy character who helps elevate home cooking with the Kraft Heinz brand’s products. The effort includes 19 spots and spans linear, streaming and connected TV, YouTube, social, audio and creator tie-ups.
- “Really Philly Good” represents Philadelphia’s largest marketing investment to date and was developed by agency Johannes Leonardo, with PR support from Zeno Group, paid media support from Carat and social support from The Kitchen, Kraft Heinz’s in-house agency.
Dive Insight:
In its first creative refresh since 2021, Philadelphia is building on more than 150 years of legacy and a presence in more than 131 million U.S. households. “Really Philly Good” positions the brand as an easy way for home cooks to add creaminess and flavor to meals. The effort targeted at younger consumers is informed by research that found nearly 75% of Gen Z and millennials have limited time to cook and 60% lack confidence in the kitchen.
“This platform is about reintroducing Philadelphia as an everyday cooking staple, not just a spread, that makes cooking feel easier, gives people more confidence in the kitchen, and ultimately makes meals more delicious,” said Angie Madigan, vice president of marketing, taste elevation, at the Kraft Heinz company, in a statement.
“Really Philly Good” revolves around Phillyboy, a new brand character that appears to home cooks in need in a series of 15-, 30- and 60-second spots. Across 19 total spots, Phillyboy elevates foods including scrambled eggs, pesto pasta, chili dip and — in a classic pairing — a bagel.
“Our new brand character, Phillyboy, brings people Philadelphia cream cheese just in time to improve whatever they’re making. He’s a physical embodiment of the brand — he’s a friendly, cool and confident dairy expert, and his arrival is a welcomed surprise. A metaphor for the welcome but unexpected surprise of just how good Philly is in just about everything,” said Lex Beltrone, executive creative director at Johannes Leonardo, in a statement.
The full 360-degree campaign spans video, social and other channels to drive reach and frequency with key consumers. Its media plan also includes premium placements with “The Bachelorette” and The New York Times, social and influencer content across TikTok, Meta and Pinterest, and an artificial intelligence-powered meal-planning tool made in partnership with Allrecipes.
Philadelphia Cream Cheese’s previous brand platform, “You don’t just taste it. You feel it,” launched in 2021 with ads by Gut and a multisensory dining concept called Feeladelphia. The brand in 2024 commissioned an original song, “Land of the Cream Cheese,” by country singer-songwriter Travis Yee to tap into trends on TikTok and Instagram.
“Really Philly Good” comes as parent Kraft Heinz is pausing plans to split its condiment and grocery staples businesses into two separate companies. The CPG giant plans to spend $600 million on marketing, sales, research and development to return to profitable growth.
“Brands like Heinz and Philadelphia Cream Cheese have already been showing in the last 13 weeks and the last four weeks some meaningful improvement based on things that the team had started to do in the back half of last year. So we’ll continue against that,” said Kraft Heinz CEO Steven Cahillane, who stepped into the top job in January, on an earnings call earlier this month.
