H-E-B celebrates superfans in new lighthearted commercial series
H-E-B gets it
Ben Affleck having more fun at Dunkin' than at the Grammys. Maya Rudolph hawking candy-coated clams. Tubi creating the most disarming horror villain since M3gan. For better or worse, Super Bowl ads get people talking. No wonder a hometown grocer would want to get in on the game.
In H-E-B's latest bid to prove that "no store does more," the San Antonio-based grocery giant debuted two Big Game ads riffing on its fandom's unyielding passion. In the series titled "If You Know, You Know," friends of H-E-Buddy go to great lengths to enjoy the company's signature products.
A couple wearing hats large enough for Pharrell to appreciate sneaks That Green Sauce into a stadium. A driver buckles up her precious little one — a tub of Creamy Creations ice cream. And a traveler presents a suitcase filled with flour tortillas to airport security (TSA also featured this one on its social media channels this week).
To add some pathos to the vignettes, Dallas-based Plot Twist Creativity scored the commercial to the immortal LeAnn Rimes hit "How Do I Live." (Or at least, we think it was Rimes' version. Trisha Yearwood also released the song in 1997 for Con Air. It was a whole thing.)
Though exaggerated for comic effect, the sentiment isn't that far from reality. Since launching the H-E-B family of brands in 1992, the company now has thousands of privately labeled products. At least in Texas, they helped transform store brands from dreary black-and-white generics to covetable items of their own.
Of course, few regional grocery chains have as much fun with branding as H-E-B. The fandom now gobbles up items like tortilla-scented candles and onesies for H-E-Babies. The customer zeal regularly helps the corporation land on national lists like dunhumby's recent survey of best U.S. grocers.
"At H-E-B, we appreciate that our customers have come to know and love our H-E-B brand products," sums up Ashwin Nathan, H-E-B Group Vice President of Marketing. "The love and fanaticism that H-E-B customers have for our brand and our products is like no other, and we think many of our loyal H-E-B fans will see themselves in these commercials."
Missed the championship game/ Rihanna pregnancy announcement? H-E-B says the commercials will air in select Texas markets through February.
