Pringles goes all in on social to put college athletes front-and-center for ‘March Mustache’ campaign

By Julian Cannon

While March Madness is most associated with television and streaming, Pringles is turning to social media — particularly Instagram — to leverage some of the college athletes playing in the basketball tournament. The chip brand is looking to reach college basketball fans on second screens and offering chances to win tickets to attend the tournament’s final games.

Specifically, Pringles signed Gonzaga University’s Drew Timme (who has 92,000 followers), the University of Virginia’s Ben Vander Plas (12,000 followers) and Duke University’s Dariq Whitehead (87,000 followers) for its March Madness campaign. According to Mauricio Jenkins, Pringles’ U.S. marketing lead, the brand chose these athletes because of their abilities, of course, but also because their mustaches are part of their identities and personalities, much like the Pringles mascot. The financial agreements between the parties were not disclosed.

“While Pringles stands for mustaches of all shapes, sizes and textures, Drew’s iconic horseshoe ‘stache, Ben’s epic caterpillar ‘stache and Dariq’s fan-favorite pencil ‘stache stood out to the brand as part of their identities and each pairs perfectly with Mr. P’s burly look to create the one-of-its-kind Pringles March Mustache Collection,” said Jenkins. Through this campaign, the brand is aiming to bring together sports fans and snack fans, and doesn’t plan to reduce its ad spend in the current economic climate, Jenkins added.

As part of the campaign, Pringles is giving fans a chance to win the Pringles March Mustache Collection by showing off their tournament-inspired mustaches on Instagram using the hashtag #PringlesMarchMustacheEntry between March 15 and April 4. Pringles’ college athlete partners are each featured on a can, and the players also generated social content about the collection to share with their fans. These limited-edition Pringles cans are not available for purchase, but the athletes posted Instagram content showing them off and encouraging fans to enter Pringles’ Instagram sweepstakes.

Jenkins said that 100% of the ad spend for this specific campaign went toward social media to amplify content from the players and the brand surrounding the partnership. With that said, Pringles declined to say exactly how much it’s spending on this campaign. According to Vivvix data, the brand spent $38 million on marketing efforts in 2022, $8 million of which was allocated to digital displays.

Brands including ESPN, Pizza Hut, Great Clips and Continental Tire are also leveraging March Madness to reach out to college basketball fans wherever they watch the tournament’s games or follow the players on social media. Just like Great Clips, Pringles is looking to gamify its marketing efforts for March Madness with its contest to win tickets to the final games.

“The chance to attend the final games is an incredible way to build a lasting brand-fan relationship,” said Jenkins. “We know the tournament is a time sports fans look forward to, and we are finding ways to connect with our audiences during moments that are important to them.”

John Vagueiro, CEO and founder of global digital marketing agency Adapting, said, when it comes to March Madness especially, the reason brands need …read more

Source:: Digiday