With Disney set to unveil the latest trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens tonight during Monday Night Football, CP+B is launching the biggest advertising push yet for Star Wars Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, which the brand released in January.
In a 30-second broadcast ad, entitled “Can’t Play,” an obsessive Star Wars fan shows his son his room full of collectibles, including boxes of Kraft’s Star Wars-themed offering. When the son asks how his dad plays with all the Star Wars toys that have never been removed from their boxes, he explains that he doesn’t, he collects them. The son’s response to a room with “toys you can’t play with and mac and cheese you can’t eat” is pretty perfect, with “Can’t Play” both poking fun at and celebrating Star Wars obsessives –admittedly an easy target — by viewing collector culture through the eyes of a young fan. There’s also a 15-second spot, entitled “Great Disturbance,” with essentially the same premise but a different ending.
Both ads will run on broadcast through December 21, or a few days after the The Force Awakens premieres. The broadcast efforts are supported by an interactive website curated by collector organization Rancho Obi-Wan, which holds the record for the largest private Star Wars collection. Two-page print ads will follow the broadcast ads being taken off the air, featured in the December 22 release of Time.
The ad isn’t the first to promote a Star Wars-themed product ahead of the movie’s release, as BBDO launched “Your Father” for Campbell’s Star Wars line of condensed soups earlier this month. As the December 18 release date approaches, we expect to see plenty more as brands seek to capitalize on the massively popular franchise.