Heritage with a Refreshing Twist from Tropicana

Tropicana is America’s #1 juice brand, but to retain that position it needs to ensure it’s well-known and appealing to younger consumers. This brash, zippy, tongue-in-cheek ad is part of a new campaign from agency Cramer-Krasselt which looks to do just that. The campaign, running in a variety of ad formats on platforms from TV to TikTok, makes a series of cheeky claims that the juice brand “basically invented” everything from ‘BFFs’ to mimosas. In this particular 15-second spot, Tropicana stakes a claim to the origin of brunch.

On the one hand, it’s not meant to be taken seriously. But go below the surface and it’s making an important brand claim in a refreshing way. Tropicana has been around for a really long time – it dates back to the 1950s, and has a ton of heritage. It’s all too easy for a brand of that vintage to get stuck into appealing only to its existing customers, then find itself in trouble as it leaves newer, younger consumers behind.

So these ads are a way to remind people that Tropicana has been a big part of American lives and culture for decades, but in a fresh way that places the brand firmly in the middle of contemporary culture. Old brands looking to capitalize on newer trends can feel more than a little cringe – Tropicana lean into that with over-the-top voiceover making it clear that they’re aware these ads and their claims aren’t 100% serious.

It’s a difficult creative tightrope for a brand to walk, particularly with only 15 seconds screentime. But Tropicana have managed it, landing a strong 4.7-Star Rating with consumers, making it the best Tropicana ad we’ve tested this decade and placing it in the Top 10 of the entire juices and nutritional drinks category. We also predict success for the ad on a sales level, with a strong Brand Fluency score and exceptional short-term Spike Rating.

Tropicana’s “The Juice That Starts It All” campaign kicks off their 70th birthday year with an ad that does heritage in the right way – as something relevant to modern consumers, not just a nostalgic look backwards.