Gordon Ramsay, the world-renowned chef known for his exacting culinary standards, is the new face of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter (ICBINB) as the brand undergoes its most significant product overhaul in decades. This strategic partnership with the Flora Food Group brand aims to reverse a decade-long sales decline by repositioning the spread for a new generation of health-conscious and foodie consumers.
The campaign, created by Salt, arrives as ICBINB also aims to address modern dietary shifts, including the rise of nutrient-dense diets favored by the 12% (and rising) of Americans utilizing GLP-1 appetite suppressant drugs.
The debut TV spot, “Next Level Better” :45 leverages Ramsay’s signature personality, featuring a bleeper-laden rave over the spread’s quality and a playful riff on his viral “idiot sandwich” meme. Beyond the screen, the collaboration includes a dedicated cooking site with Ramsay-designed recipes, signaling a long-term commitment to establishing the brand as a credible staple for the modern home chef.
Here’s what iSpot’s Creative Assessment platform revealed on actual viewer response to the spot.
The Details:
- As intended, Gordon Ramsay delivered both strong breakthrough and clear Information on the improved ICBINB formulation in the :45 “Next Level Better:”
- Attention came in +42 points above the one-year dairy norm, and Likeability +37 points above norm. This indicates the creative successfully cut through, with viewer ratings of the Single Best Thing pointing to the characters (39%), specifically Gordon Ramsay, as the most impressionable aspect – and at nearly 4X the average category spot.
- As a result this ad emphatically stood out in the category with very strong appeal across viewers 21-49 – an important strength for brand momentum.
- Ramsay’s Funny delivery convinced 64% to consider the brand (outpacing benchmark level by +7 pts) in a Memorable, if somewhat Inappropriate for some, manner.
- Although unaided brand recall may appear somewhat limited, there were many variations including instances of “can’t believe it’s butter” which, while not entirely accurate, would lead consumers to the correct product in the dairy aisle.
- Attention came in +42 points above the one-year dairy norm, and Likeability +37 points above norm. This indicates the creative successfully cut through, with viewer ratings of the Single Best Thing pointing to the characters (39%), specifically Gordon Ramsay, as the most impressionable aspect – and at nearly 4X the average category spot.
- Second-by-second trace results show the immediate engagement effect of Ramsay, which was maintained throughout the :45 plot:
- Viewer sentiment on the :45 “Next Level Better” reflects the ad’s ability to effectively leverage celebrity and humor to drive engagement. Gordon Ramsay’s authentic personality and brand alignment, and his reputation as a demanding chef, lent credibility to the product quality claim, while the ‘idiot sandwich’ reference brought cultural relevancy.
- The “next level better” positioning successfully communicated product improvement with a perfect tie to the celebrity himself and educated many who were genuinely surprised to learn about vitamins and antioxidants in the product.
- While a section of viewers expectedly felt the profanity (even bleeped) was excessive (primarily 50+) or Inappropriate, the large majority agreed that it worked given Ramsay’s known personality; the bleeping of profanity was consistently cited as funny and memorable and the behind-the-scenes/commercial-within-a-commercial format felt fresh. For older buyers, many of whom are part of the brand’s customer franchise, this spot could pose some risk. This could be mitigated, however, by media placements that favor younger audiences, or in programming featuring the celebrity chef.
- Of course, some doubted whether Ramsay would really use the product and for others, the spot felt a bit too long (which the :30 cut could address).
- Viewer sentiment on the :45 “Next Level Better” reflects the ad’s ability to effectively leverage celebrity and humor to drive engagement. Gordon Ramsay’s authentic personality and brand alignment, and his reputation as a demanding chef, lent credibility to the product quality claim, while the ‘idiot sandwich’ reference brought cultural relevancy.
Sample comments on the “Next Level Better” :45
“It made it more appealing, on the fact that you used a world renowned chef in the commercial that’s known not to like everything. If he likes something, most people will like the same thing also.”
Male 36-49
“Chef Gordon for sure brought this commercial out and makes you feel good about purchasing I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter.”
Female 21-35
“I liked it. I am a Gordon Ramsey fan. I laughed out loud a few times, especially at the end as he was walking away, saying he couldn’t believe it was butter.”
Female 36-49
“I absolutely loved this ad. It doesn’t hurt that I am a huge Gordon Ramsay fan. However, what I took from the ad was that your products are not only not better, but also packed with vitamins and antioxidants I believe. I have used your product many times in the past, but I did not know about the vitamins, etc. Great job on that ad. I loved it.”
Male 50+
“This is a really funny and well done ad. I love the behind the scenes aspect and having Gordon Ramsay playing himself is great.”
Male 36-49
“I enjoyed seeing someone I knew like Gordan Ramsey. It was also fun to see a reference of him, like the idiot sandwich! I got bored in a few parts when they stopped using entertainment to promote and just talked normally.”
Female 21-35
“I thought it was a good ad. It showcased that the product can be used for cooking good food the same as butter and is just as tasty as the thing it’s substituting. It demonstrated that the product is of quality.”
Male 21-35
“I thought it was a let down to promote the product with screaming and cursing. I know that’s what he’s known for, but it brings the commercial down, not up, for me.”
Female 50+
“The story is hard to believe. Why would Chef Ramsey really cook/promote margarine when there is real butter? It feels more of a reflection on chef’s ‘copping out’ to sell products.”
Female 21-35
“So funny and I didn’t know there were all those vitamins and I can’t believe it’s not butter.”
Female 50+
“It looks like a healthy alternative.”
Male 21-35
“That’s one of the better ads I have seen in a long time and having Gordon Ramsey promote it was just perfection.”
Male 36-49
- The appeal was consistent across ethnicity and was even stronger among those with children in the household, suggesting profanity concerns were not widespread:
- The :45 ad ranks among the top dairy ads tested over the past year, at #7 in overall response:
- Although far more character-focused than the typical dairy ad, the strong integration of Ramsay’s personality and the script linked to the product intrinsically, allowing for the product to still shine.
- This suggests additional support be placed behind the spot, if possible. The brand could also test the :30 cut to evaluate if it was equally (or more) persuasive, which could allow for broader reach and/or improved ROI.
- Although far more character-focused than the typical dairy ad, the strong integration of Ramsay’s personality and the script linked to the product intrinsically, allowing for the product to still shine.
- The :45 “Next Level Better” found solid audiences among current ICBINB users, lapsed users, and brand considerers:
- Sample size was low for unfamiliar users, reflecting the overall awareness of the brand in the marketplace.
Ineffective creative, even if delivered to the right audience, results in missed opportunity and performance shortfalls. Great creative delivered poorly also results in failed campaigns.
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Creative Agency: Salt