Summer is finally coming around the corner; which signals not only the advent of sunshine but the less-welcome annual marketing tradition of self-flagellation.

For historically the onset of summer has brought with it the onset of a flurry of marketing messages surrounding diet. What consumers should eat less of, what problems they need to identify, obsess over and work to solve. It’s the time of year where it's acceptable to swap your breakfast for dust and try a range of ‘free from’ products; supported by marketing campaign’s which are often equally free of joy.

Yet this year in a welcome break from the category norm Danone’s Light & Free brand is delivering some much-needed light-relief to the yogurt category. The campaign, created by The&Partnership, pokes fun at traditional yogurt advertising and the cliches that so often accompany low-fat, low-fun options. 

The rebellious “Light and Free-kin’ Tasty” pokes fun at the instantly recognisable and outdated tropes of the category, the campaign positions Light & Free as a choice for consumers who are looking for yogurt options to help make them feel good. It’s a step-change for the category - successfully focusing on what Light & Free is full off - rather than free from. 

While making advertising which essentially pokes fun at advertising has historically been seen as too much of an industry ‘in joke’, in the yogurt category the stereotypes are so well-established that this campaign instantly becomes an in-joke that the audience is in fact in on too. 

Running in the UK and Ireland, the TV and VOD spots were shot by Jim Gilchrist and Outsider, with post production by Number 8.  The through-the-line campaign will be supported with  social, digital and shopper.

Julia Lowbridge, Marketing Manager at Danone, explains that Light & Free is the ‘light yogurt rebel’ and the antithesis of a category that is about sacrifice, where the focus is what the products are free from. She continues:  “This campaign showcases what we’re full of: a carefree and unpretentious attitude and truly great taste. We’re aiming to connect with consumers who are looking for healthy but tasty options that come without pressure, whilst entertaining a few people along the way”.

Micky Tudor, Executive Creative Director at The&Partnership, added: “In a category that takes itself way too seriously, we didn’t. We chucked out yogurt advertising clichés. Literally. Out of a ten-storey window in fact. Light and Free-kin’ Tasty is the platform we hope will start to bring a little much-needed rebellion to the yogurt aisle.”

On the precipice of a summer in which many consumers find themselves with enough to worry about already; this campaign is a welcome reminder of the joy that comes with not taking yourself, or your brand, too seriously.