To personify the confident attitude of pretzels, we set out to create a spokesperson who didn’t take any crap. But tough guy spokesman have been done to death. We thought, “Why does it have to be a guy? Why couldn’t it be a woman? Why couldn’t it be… I don’t know a 50-year-old midwestern woman who looks like your Aunt from Dayton, Ohio.” So that’s what we did. A tough woman of substance who defends her love of pretzels with her fists. And she played an integral role in the turnaround of the b

To launch the ‘Pretzels, baby’ campaign, we leveraged a no-nonsense, pretzel-loving woman who channeled the spirit of legendary tough guys Charles Bronson and Telly Savalas. Known only as the ‘Pretzel Lady,’ our spokeswoman was as confident, substantial, and self-assured as pretzels themselves. We showcased this bold, provocative attitude front and center across TV, digital, print, in-store, and PR.

On social, when people posted about pretzels or snacking they received a response video featuring our swagger-filled spokeswoman stating the virtues of pretzels. We even banned a few pretzel naysayers. It gave pretzels the attitude and confidence they deserve and reframed pretzels as anything but boring or easy to forget.

The campaign instantly broke through the clutter and grabbed people’s attention. Even the writers at Conan couldn’t help but weigh in. A single tweet about the ‘Pretzel Lady’ from Conan O’Brien’s sidekick, Andy Richter, sparked a three-day Twitter ‘feud’—resulting in nearly 6 million potential impressions in earned media.

In addition to driving relevancy for both the brand and the category, our spokeswoman played an integral role in the brand renovation and turnaround efforts for the business. Since the campaign launch, sales across the portfolio increased by nearly 6% YOY and Snyder's of Hanover gained nearly two full points of market share—triumphantly reclaiming our rightful place in the front of the pantry.

Everyone likes good old classic pretzels. But a bunch of flashy newcomer snacks were stealing the limelight. Mom (and family) have forgotten what a great snack pretzels can be. As snack choices continue to grow at an exponential rate, she needs inspiring and motivating shorthand on how/what pretzels deliver to her and her family. An emotional hook with truth and relevance.

First, we needed to reclaim pretzels’ rightful place in the snacking world. We identified an undeniable truth: Snyder’s of Hanover pretzels are time-tested and satisfying—a snack of substance. Next, we needed to reframe pretzels as anything but boring—injecting energy into a tired category. So we copped an attitude deserving of the world’s first and best snack.

As you’d expect, Snyder’s of Hanover pretzels are a classic snack brand with traditional family values. But the non-stop onslaught of imagery from other snack brands showing stay-at-home mom smiling and packing lunches is outdated and problematic. As the category leader for over 100 years, we decided to do something about it. We decided to break the mom-as-spokeswoman cliche and give real moms a “tough guy” of their own.