We used data to target tax-paying millennials in New York, the bagel capital of the world, across Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok during the last week leading up to Tax Day with the call to action: “buy a Tax-Free Bagel and stuff it to the tax man”. We used foot traffic and locations near H&H Bagel stores (who distributed our Tax-Free Bagels) to inform where to launch our outdoor advertising and place our pop-up activation to maximize engagement and sales. Every touch point in our campaign encouraged New Yorkers to buy our Tax-Free Bagel to evade the bagel tax.

Philadelphia goes hand in hand with bagels (59% of consumers use Philadelphia Cream Cheese on bagels). And in New York, the bagel capital of the world, people don’t know that they’re being taxed 8.875% for ordering a bagel schmeared with cream cheese. This is because a bagel needs to be sliced to get cream cheese inside of it; therefore, it’s legally considered a “prepared food.” Yeah, ridiculous. Philadelphia, being the most iconic cream cheese brand in the world, didn’t want to get in the way of people enjoying their favorite bagel with cream cheese. So the brand needed to establish itself as an ally to New Yorkers.

We needed to create a campaign that educated New Yorkers about the bagel tax and invited them to evade the bagel tax (legally).

We invited tax-paying New Yorkers to evade the bagel tax with the “Tax-Free Bagel.” A special kind of bagel that Philadelphia created with the help of H&H Bagels, a famous 50-year-old bagel shop in New York City. This bagel doesn’t require you to slice it because the Philadelphia cream cheese is already stuffed inside of it. And because it doesn’t need to be sliced, legally it cannot be taxed. This is a delicious way to circumvent the silly bagel tax, allowing people to enjoy bagels and cream cheese without having to pay more. No slicing, no schmearing, no bagel tax. It’s like committing tax evasion, without going to prison.

Philadelphia Cream Cheese is rarely bought to be eaten by itself. That’s why bagels are really important to the brand (it’s the top Philly pairing, with 59% of consumers using our cream cheese on bagels).

So, the Tax-Free Bagel campaign targeted millennial bagel consumers in New York, where bagels are taxed. We timed the campaign to launch a week before the tax deadline in the US (April 11th-April 18th). Because this is when New York citizens would have taxes on their top of mind. The approach to our strategy was to raise awareness about the bagel tax to New Yorkers. Since New York is the capital of bagels, we knew that raising awareness would rally New Yorkers to Philadelphia’s cause. We gave them the best way to evade the tax: Buying the Tax-Free Bagel—a bagel that doesn’t need to be sliced, so legally it can’t be taxed by the government.

On April 11th, we released a teaser video, in-feed social posts and stories on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. We also released billboards all around the city of New York. Not only did these executions raise awareness about the bagel tax, they educated New Yorkers about when and where they could find Philadelphia’s Tax-Free Bagels.

On April 14th-18th, the last few days to submit tax reports to the US government, we sold the Tax-Free Bagel at H&H Bagel locations in New York City (Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Manhattan, and Garment District) and online.

On April 17th and 18th, we launched a pop-up activation in Albany, right in front of the Capitol Building (the government building of the State of New York) to protest the bagel tax to lawmakers and government officials. Because bagels are supposed to be enjoyed, not taxed.

Business Results:

294% Increase in sales across H&H Bagels stores

$540K Projected tax savings over the next year

743 Million Impressions

$7.1 Million in Earned Media

+169% Increase in Social Mentions vs. Monthly Average

515 Placements

Press:

“The greatest invention of the 21st century” -FOX

“The found a bagel loophole” -NY Post

“On a rebellion scale, 10 out of 10.” -NPR

Philadelphia’s Tax-Free Bagel campaign tapped into a collective love that New Yorkers specifically have for bagels. New York City is considered the capital of bagels due to being heavily influenced by Jewish culture—which turned bagels into a staple of American breakfast cuisine. The fact that Americans (not just New Yorkers) also have a negative relationship with taxes added to the cultural relevance of the Tax-Free Bagel campaign.

The Tax-Free Bagel played on this cultural context by raising awareness about the bagel tax, which rallied New Yorkers to passionately oppose the tax. Because the campaign’s launch coincided with the US tax deadline, the campaign was even more relevant to New Yorkers as well because taxes were on their top of mind.