Kraft Mac & Cheese has kicked off a campaign that pitches the pantry staple as the “Best Thing Ever,” per details shared with Marketing Dive. The effort, which carries Kraft Mac & Cheese’s largest media investment to date, comes as the packaged foods marketer faces challenges both from private label and premium upstarts. In response, “Best Thing Ever” looks to market Kraft Mac & Cheese as an experience and not just a product, according to Cheryl Barbee, communications director for the brand at The Kraft Heinz Company.
“Kraft Mac & Cheese’s position as a beloved, familiar, and trusted brand does not spare it from the challenges many heritage brands are facing,” Barbee said over email. “The key to maintaining our position as the #1 brand in the category is reinforcing our cultural relevance by emphasizing the beloved taste, value and convenience that only Kraft Mac & Cheese can deliver to remind consumers why the blue box has reigned supreme for nearly a century.”
New creative positions Kraft Mac & Cheese as better and more dependable than many familiar consumer occasions. A pair of 15-second ads voiced by comedian John Mulaney pit the food against field goals and friends. In the latter spot, Mulaney says “we [meaning Kraft] don’t get harder to make in adulthood.” An out-of-home ad in a movie theater lobby maintains “Our endings are always satisfying” while one near an airport claims “you don’t have to arrive two hours early to enjoy this.”
“The comparisons are big, audacious claims that embed the brand naturally in moments where cultural moments, places, and conversations intersect,” Barbee said. “Media amplifies the approach, placing content where audiences are most engaged to land our message in the most relevant way.”
“Best Thing Ever” includes more than 70 distinct assets and uses a hypercontextual approach to capture the attention of a diverse consumer base by showing up in unexpected and disruptive ways. The campaign is running across TV, connected TV, YouTube, social and OOH channels.
An evolving landscape
“Best Thing Ever” represents a shift from the positioning Kraft Mac & Cheese has staked out in recent years. As consumers sought out comfort food during the height of the pandemic, Kraft in 2021 worked to destigmatize the notion of comfort with a “Help Yourself” campaign. The marketer in 2022 also rebranded, shortening its name from Kraft Macaroni & Cheese to Kraft Mac & Cheese and promoting the idea of “positive comfort.” The new campaign looks to meet consumers who are no longer seeking more than just comfort from familiar brands, as well as reposition the brand to better compete with new entrants in the category.
“Consumers also value small, everyday moments of joy that are shareable and culturally relevant. Comfort food is no longer just about nostalgia, but about delight and celebration in the present,” Barbee said. “The brand’s strategy reflects this shift. We looked back at our history to distill the values that have remained constant — taste, value and convenience.”
This is the first campaign created for Kraft Mac & Cheese by Rethink, an independent creative agency that has worked extensively with parent Kraft Heinz on culture-hacking campaigns around ketchup. “Best Thing Ever” has social media support from The Kitchen North America, Kraft Heinz’s in-house shop, as well as PR from Alison Brod Marketing + Communications and paid media from Carat.
“Kraft Mac & Cheese is ushering in a new brand tone and personality that reminds consumers of the iconic brand we are,” Barbee said. “Rethink is known for reimagining brands, and we needed a partner who could take on the ambitious task at hand — reinforce Kraft Mac & Cheese’s iconic heritage in a way that felt wholly unexpected and new, but still felt authentic to our brand fans.”
Kraft Mac & Cheese has spent 2025 focused on innovation, introducing five new flavors and different product formats, including 11-ounce blue boxes and single-serving cups. The brand has seen an increase in both new buyers and households, gains it attributed to the innovation strategy. “Best Thing Ever” looks to build on that success, which has reached younger consumers on Instagram and TikTok.
“New flavors and formats give Kraft Mac & Cheese the opportunity to tap into social and cultural trends and think outside of the (blue) box to deliver for our existing brand fans, while also grabbing the attention of new audiences,” Barbee said.
The campaign comes as Kraft Heinz continues to struggle with what CEO Carlos Abrams-Rivera described as “one of the worst consumer sentiments” in decades on a recent earnings call. The CPG giant is on track to split into two companies in the second half of 2026, with Kraft Mac & Cheese joining a company focused on sauces, spreads, seasonings and shelf-stable meals alongside brands like Heinz and Philadelphia.
