Campbell Drops NFL Players' Moms Ads For Tomlinson Spots

Tomlinson To Replace Moms As Face Of New Campbell Soup Campaign

Mothers of NFL players who endorse Campbell Soup "will be riding the bench" this season, according to Russell Adams of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Campbell for the past six years have featured the moms in a "well-received series of ads for its 'Chunky' soup." Campbell's new "Working Day" ad campaign, via Young & Rubicam, N.Y., "tries to highlight the similarities" between Chargers RB LaDainian Tomlinson and "workaday male soup eaters." In "one of the series of five ads, which debut when the NFL season kicks off" on September 4, Tomlinson is "shown in action on the field as a voice-over describes his job in blue-collar terms." Campbell Senior Brand Manager Douglas Brand said, "LaDainian Tomlinson doesn't need his mom to tell him which products have protein and which products don't." Fieldwork research conducted last fall by market research firm Hall & Partners "showed that customers were ready for a more empowering message than the one sent by images of grown men heeding the call of their mothers." Though NFL moms are "off the air, Campbell isn't totally abandoning the theme." As part of the new campaign, "35 mothers of NFL players will appear on behalf of [Campbell] to raise food donations for Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 8/27).