General Mills Australia has launched an international sports influencer led initiative to herald the arrival of Old El Paso Tortilla Pockets, a new global product innovation uniquely designed for mess-free Mexican mealtimes.
The campaign sees the brand kicking off a social media challenge, the #MessFreeChallenge, featuring Australian, British, Spanish, Swiss and French sports stars, stress-testing the product by holding and eating a filled Old El Paso Tortilla Pocket™, whilst playing their sport.
To kick start the campaign, Old El Paso partnered with Aussie tennis star, Nick Kyrgios to launch the new product as part of his work for the NK Foundation which supports underprivileged youth. Unveiled to his 1.4+ million Instagram followers, Kyrgios stars in a video to launch the #MessFreeChallenge, showing how easy it is for him to play tennis, including trick shots, one-handed whilst eating an Old El Paso Tortilla Pocket.
In the video Kyrgios tagged and challenged Australian tennis great, Lleyton Hewitt, and Aussie Rules Footballer Tayla Harris who have all taken up the #MessFreeChallenge, along with Australian Olympic Gymnast, Olivia Vivian and Australian Athlete Genevieve LaCaze. Since the launch, the initiative has gone international with other renowned sports stars taking part in the campaign including Andy Murray, Gaël Monfils and Elina Svitolina.
The NK Foundation and Old El Paso™ have jointly committed to donating 10,000 Old El Paso™ meal kits to Foodbank Australia to help feed disadvantaged families around Australia. In addition, for every share of Nick’s #MessFreeChallenge video via Instagram, Old El Paso is donating one additional meal kit via Foodbank Australia1.
Charlotte Stevens, Brand Experience Manager at General Mills, ANZ said: “Old El Paso exists to create noisy, easy, talkative, shared moments. In 2019, we brought this to life through the launch of the Make Some Noise platform and Taco Tuesday. This year, we’re making eating Old El Paso even more accessible and fun with the launch of the new Tortilla Pockets.
“The partnership with Kyrgios and the NK Foundation was a great way to showcase this new innovation and extend the noise whilst supporting Australian families via Foodbank Australia and being a force for good.”
Credits
Client: Arjoon Bose (Head of Culture and Partnership), Bronwyn Cheng (Marketing Manager), Charlotte Stevens (Brand Experience Manager)
Agency: Creative, earned media and influencer engagement strategy: Thinkerbell
Production: Brightworks
Talent Management: Tom Chapman (WME Agency) Stuart Duguid (IMG) and Daniel Horsfall (DMH Management)
