W+K Portland compares food to drugs in its Super Bowl spot for Weight Watchers, “All You Can Eat,” the first-ever big game appearance for the brand.
The ad comes just a few months after the agency debuted its first work for the brand with “If You’re Happy.” That spot explored how people use eating to deal with all sorts of emotions. Extrapolating a bit on that theme, “All You Can Eat” examines how eating (especially sweet and/or fatty foods) can be like a drug, as well as the manipulative ways these foods are marketed. With voiceover from Breaking Bad‘s Aaron Paul, the ad opens by asking, “Hey, you wanna get baked? And glazed, iced, fried?” over images of tempting junk food. The sinister message continues, until the ad ends with the line “It’s time to take back control,” followed by the Help with the Hard Part” tagline. It’s a natural evolution from “If You’re Happy” and its exploration of the psychological side of eating, and ultimately is more successful than that spot thanks to Paul’s voice acting, along with tighter writing and editing.