Philly Cream Cheese's PS5 is Simply Delicious Marketing

I read about it first on Hypebeast. That should tell you a lot. A 140-year old grocery brand peddling a pre-packaged cheesecake for the holiday season…prominently featured on Hypebeast. And Thrillist. And AdAge. Plus, gaming outlets left and right. CNN. The list goes on. None of it is typical or expected. All of it is genius. So, how they’d do it?

Behold the Philly Series 5. The latest innovation from Kraft Foods.

I <heart> this. All of it. Albeit, the marketing strategy itself (tapping into the console wars and doing the tech mock thing) is not completely novel. Still, it scores big. It doesn’t even require an explanation or validation. But, let’s quickly indulge.

• Taps into a cultural trend/conversation? [CHECK]

• Shareable content that provides utility across audiences and channels? Website, video, lots of fun imagery like below [CHECK]

phillytech.png

• Offers the chance to get into new verticals and audiences? Gaming, youth, culture. Yes, yes, yes. [CHECK]

• Remains true to brand in tone and voice so as not to be inauthentic? [CHECK]

• Has a clever name that plays into the whole thing? Duh, Philly Series (PS) 5! [CHECK]

Honestly, what’s not to love? It hits the adult/buyer from the top down and bottom up (their gaming kids). It’s fun and novel. It’s a conversation piece for any holiday table. Inherently social-friendly (who doesn’t want to snap a photo of their console-inspired cheesecake?). Most importantly, for $5, how can you afford not to try it?

Well, uhhh…played, Philadelphia Cream Cheese. Well. Played.