Oikos Hires Greek God Ares as Newest Member of Marketing Team in New Campaign

National campaign debuts today with commercial starring Ares, who shakes things up with unconventional marketing tactics

News provided by

Danone North America

Jan 06, 2020, 09:37 ET

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., Jan. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Oikos is unveiling "Possibly the Best Yogurt in the World," a new campaign that entertains audiences and celebrates the Greek yogurt's delicious taste and texture. In a category full of lifestyle and "bite and smile" marketing imagery, Oikos is going a completely different direction: comedy.

The campaign features Ares, who has quit his day job as the Greek God of War to work at Oikos Greek Yogurt. The ad was created and produced by VMLY&R and directed by Bryan Buckley.

Ares is the newest member of Oikos' marketing team

"'The Greek God of War' isn't like having your typical celebrity actor. A lot of unexpected stuff happens when he shows up on set," said Bryan Buckley, Oscar-nominated Director. "These spots just have you laughing and wanting more."

The campaign is shot in the loose-camera, docu-style popular with many hit TV shows and movies, and the result is a spot that is both entertaining and relatable to anyone who has spent time in an office.

"It's incredible to have a client embrace a concept that not only breaks all the norms in the category, but also allows real entertainment to shine through while championing the product. We feel very fortunate to be Oikos' partner in this," said John Godsey, North American Chief Creative Officer, VMLY&R. "Then to have Bryan Buckley bring it to life in such a fresh way just takes it over the top. You really want to get to know these characters and see where this classic, fish-out-of-water story goes."

When Ares wants to champion Oikos Greek Yogurt with war tactics, the tension is created as his co-workers see his methods as dated, very inappropriate and, most of all, unnecessary.

"When you have an incredibly delicious tasting Greek yogurt, you don't need all of the bells and whistles – or arrows and fire and brimstone – to sell it, and that's where the humor comes into our new campaign," said Surbhi Martin, Vice President, Marketing, Danone North America. "We were thrilled to work with Bryan to have fun imagining Ares, the Greek God of War, working on our team and bring forward a playful tone that's new to the category. It's just the start of many exciting things that we have planned for Oikos in 2020."

Oikos will debut new packaging in early 2020. The brand also recently launched exciting new innovations: Oikos Nut Butter Blends and Oikos Sweetened with Honey or Maple.

Oikos Greek Yogurt with Almond Butter is a delicious combination of whole milk Greek yogurt blended with real, rich almond butter. This makes for an incredibly smooth, creamy and tasty snack combination. And what's more, each 5.3 oz cup packs in 13 grams of protein.

Oikos Sweetened with Honey and Oikos Sweetened with Maple are thick and creamy yogurts sweetened without artificial sugars. With 0% fat, this new offering brings another option that has the potential to be "Possibly the Best Yogurt in the World" to the category.

To view the ads, visit https://rebrand.ly/Oikos. Visit OikosYogurt.com for more information about all of Oikos' products and connect with us on Facebook.com/Oikos, Instagram.com/Oikos and Twitter.com/Oikos.

About Danone North America
Danone North America is a purpose-driven company with a portfolio of dairy and plant-based foods. As the world's largest Certified B Corporation^®, Danone North America is committed to the creation of both economic and social value, while nurturing natural ecosystems through sustainable agriculture. Our portfolio of brands includes: Activia^®, DanActive^®, Danimals^®, Dannon^®, Good Plants^™, Horizon Organic^®, International Delight^®, Light + Fit^®, Oikos^®, Silk^®, So Delicious^® Dairy Free, STōK^®, Two Good^®, Vega^®, Wallaby^® Organic and YoCrunch^®. With more than 6,000 employees and 13 production locations across the U.S., our mission is to bring health through food to as many people as possible. For more information, visit www.danonenorthamerica.com. For more information on Danone North America's B Corp™ status, visit: https://bcorporation.net/directory/danone-north-america.

About VMLY&R
VMLY&R is a global brand and customer experience agency that harnesses creativity, technology, and culture to create connected brands. The agency is made up of more than 6,500 employees worldwide with principal offices in Kansas City, New York, Detroit, London, São Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore and Sydney. VMLY&R works with client partners including Colgate-Palmolive, Danone, Dell, Ford, New Balance, Pfizer and Wendy's. For more information, visit www.vmlyr.com. VMLY&R is a WPP company.

SOURCE Danone North America