- Eleftheria Parpis

NEW YORK Pringles is launching a campaign out of Grey in New York this week promoting Pringles Stix, the company's first baked product, cracker sticks.
 
A 30-second commercial breaking today stars a pair of animated stick figures, Mr. Pringles and a female partner, made out of the crackers, dancing to Earth Wind and Fire in a disco. "Oh yeah, now those moves are really delicious," says a deep voiceover, introducing the cracker sticks. "They'll have you snacking to a whole new beat."
 
Rob Baiocco, deputy chief creative director at Grey, said the challenge for the creative team was creating an ad that instantly conveyed the Pringles brand even though the new product is shaped differently than its flagship potato chip and is packaged in a square box rather than the cylindrical container consumers are accustomed to. "Everything other than the stick itself screams Pringles," he said.
 
The idea for the "whole new beat" theme, added Baiocco, originated in a print execution that was not developed for market. It featured the line with a visual showing the cracker sticks being used as drumsticks.
 
In addition to the commercial, which will run on network and cable TV also as a 15-second spot, the campaign includes print, in-store and a Tupperware sampling program starting next month created by Grey Group's G2.
 
The product, which comes in four flavors -- crunchy wheat, vanilla, honey butter and pizza -- began rolling out in Southeastern markets earlier this year and is available nationwide.