Ben & Jerry’s unveils new ‘If it’s not pun, why dough it’ campaign via PHD and Bastion Banjo

PHD and Ben & Jerry’s new brand campaign focuses on bringing light-hearted, humorous puns to the masses and celebrates their distinctive ingredient, Cookie Dough. The creative flavour was brought to life by Bastian Banjo.

Ben & Jerry’s brand motto – “If it’s not fun, why do it”, was crafted into, “If it’s not pun, why dough it” designed to celebrate their Cookie Dough Ice Cream innovation, invented in the early 80s. The media-led campaign designed by PHD saw close collaboration with Sydney creative agency Bastion Banjo, where media targeting capabilities informed creative messaging; with doughlicious cookie dough related puns tailored to individual environments.

Research showed that Gen Zers are generally underwhelmed by the invasive nature of advertising but are more open to humorous ads. This coupled with the positive impact contextually relevant messages have on ROI, made the “If it’s not pun, why do it” idea a ‘dough brainer’ for the brand.

The multi-channel campaign covers TV, digital and OOH, with each touch point bringing creative and context together for a doughlicious and pun experience. Tailored puns such as “uncover something doughlicious” aired during The Masked Singer Finale. Director Mix on YouTube is delivering over 50 puns to relevant audiences and contexts, updated to align with trends as they arise. Transit and retail OOH extend the concept and ensure Ben & Jerry’s dougliciousness is top of mind on the path to purchase.

Says Elyse Foley, business director across Unilever, at PHD: “We are incredibly excited to see this campaign come to life, which was driven by a clear insight, innovative strategy and doughlicious creative. It was a truly collaborative effort that has delivered on our core media idea of “if its not pun, why dough it.”

Says Bert Naber, country manager, Ben & Jerry’s: “Ben & Jerry’s has always been very quirky and fun in its approach, so we brought this to the centre of the brief. Both PHD and Banjo have delivered outstanding creative and strategic work to come up with a strong integrated campaign across multiple touchpoints delivering a never-ending series of quirky ads.”

Says Alexandra Sherbon, account director, Bastion Banjo: “As a fun loving, light-hearted brand, Ben & Jerry’s gave us great scope to create play-on-words humour that delivers the brand’s key benefits in a fun way. Our bright, visually appealing approach created such a positive response that it was agreed to broaden the scope and see our assets across more channels. We’re really pleased to see the campaign live and in-market!”

Ben & Jerry’s products are available at all major supermarkets across Australia, including their flagship Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough flavours, Netflix & Chilll’d and Unfudge Our Future specials editions.