"A Little MoonPie Can Change The World" is first consumer advertising for 107-year-old bakery

Chattanooga Bakery, creator of the original MoonPie® marshmallow sandwich, recently selected Big River Advertising of Richmond, VA to launch an advertising effort for an important new product – the Mini MoonPie. The first assignment is a television campaign now in test market in Charlotte, NC, Birmingham, AL and Montgomery, AL.

“We invited six agencies to pitch their ideas to us,” said Tory Johnston, VP of Marketing and Business Development for MoonPie. “Not only did Big River hit a home run creatively, but their strong commitment to the authenticity of MoonPie won us over.” Named “A Little Moon Pie Can Change the World,” the 30-second and 15-second spots show real people going about their stress-filled, hectic, over-committed lives. Amidst all this noise, the ad points to the innocence of kids and the simple enjoyment of things like MoonPie.

The portrayal of the modern condition of American adults was the result of significant consumer research that Big River analyzed. The research showed that a majority of Americans are looking for things that simplify their lives as well as the lives of their kids. MoonPie represents an “authentic” solution: a bite from their past and something good and wholesome worth sharing with their children.

Creative Director Terry Taylor wrote, directed and edited the commercial. “Because the brand is so real, that’s the kind of people you’ll see in the commercial. We went out and found ordinary people – moms, a businessman, local children and a teacher at one of our kid’s school…and they were featured in the ads.”

Fred Moore, President of Big River added, “Our passion is getting to the heart of the brand. Without it, the work would seem phony. MoonPie is a great American brand and we’re thrilled to start a relationship with them.”

WFofR in Richmond planned and bought the media for the initial test markets.

About Big River Advertising

Big River Advertising is a strong proponent of authentic branding which gets to the truth of a brand and/or company and matches this with the concerns or frustrations among their audience. Clients include Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Dominion Resources, Harris Williams & Co., Coalition on Donation and Velocity Micro.

Fun Facts about MoonPie

• Each day, Chattanooga Bakery makes nearly one million MoonPies.
• MoonPies were included in care packages sent to world leaders attending the G-8 Summit when it was held in Sea Island, GA.
• The world record for eating MoonPies is 15 regular MoonPies – not mini or double-decker – in five minutes.

Click here to see the two MoonPie television spots