CM Touches Up Betty

Campbell Mithun built upon a concept and script created by DDB Chicago in its first work for Betty Crocker Bowl Appetit lunches since winning the brand earlier this year.

“We thought it was a solid idea that we could build on,” said Craig Miller, creative and art director on the spot. “We did quite a bit to add dialogue and add a character.”

Betty Crocker was one of several brands the Minneapolis agency picked up in an agency realignment by General Mills that ultimately axed DDB Chicago from the company’s roster. CM also picked up ad duties for Hamburger Helper and several cereals formerly at DDB.

DDB’s original script followed a theme laid out by the agency for the brand last year—a girl describing how her mother is too busy to get a nutritious lunch quickly.

“I thought to make it charming and memorable we needed more of that going on,” Miller said. To give the spot a “more balanced feel,” Miller and creative director/copywriter Rob Wallace added a brother and punched up the dialogue, he said.

The final version of the TV spot, which breaks today, shows a young girl and boy in their house as their mother works from home around them. “Every kid’s got the same problem,” laments the girl to her brother and the audience. “Our moms are too busy for lunch.”

The spot closes with the line, “Thank goodness for Betty Crocker.” Miller said he did not know whether further executions will follow the theme devised by DDB.

Billings for the new campaign were not disclosed. General Mills spent $7 million on the Betty Crocker Bowl Appetit brand last year, according to CMR.