The US food market is deep in a "protein-maxxing" moment, with protein now added to coffee, candy, even toothpaste. Granola brand Purely Elizabeth decided to poke fun at the craze head-on with its new Protein Ancient Grain Granola — in a campaign that marks the brand's largest media investment to date.
The centerpiece is a 30-second spot called "Protein Product Madness." A woman enjoying her granola encounters increasingly absurd protein-added products — candy, wine, toothpaste — a comic jab at the everything-needs-protein mindset. The ad uses the humor to spotlight Purely Elizabeth's real differentiator: it uses whole-food ingredients instead of isolated proteins or additives.
During creative development, the team researched genuinely available protein-boosted products — high-protein beer, protein jelly — to sharpen the joke. CMO Cherry Joh described the approach as leaning into "a more comedic point of view."
The new product launched in May 2026 in three flavors — Cinnamon Toast, Almond Butter & Berry, and Dark Chocolate Blueberry — and beat category benchmarks in its first month. Media was handled by Wpromote x Giant Spoon, creative by TDA_Boulder. The campaign ran during US Open broadcast coverage, on streaming platforms including Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Hulu, and HBO Max, across paid social and programmatic, and through a full subway station takeover at New York's Columbus Circle running through July.
This campaign is a strong example of contrarian positioning: instead of riding an overheated category trend, it satirizes it. With 70% of US consumers trying to increase protein intake — up 8 points since 2021 — and the market facing both ingredient shortages and product oversaturation, simply shouting "protein content" alongside every competitor would have blended in. Mocking the trend itself while planting the message "we're different — whole food based" cuts through in a way spec claims can't. As a category saturates, differentiation increasingly comes from brand point of view and tone, not another round of the same claims.
It's also worth noting the scale of the bet: Purely Elizabeth has doubled in size over two years, hitting $200 million in 2025 revenue and targeting $300 million in 2026 as the self-described number-one granola brand in the US. Pairing a record media budget with a major out-of-home takeover during a genuine growth moment is a useful reference point for deciding when — and how boldly — to concentrate marketing investment.
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It's satirizing 'protein-maxxing' — the trend of adding protein to nearly everything, including candy, wine, and toothpaste — while highlighting that Purely Elizabeth uses whole-food ingredients instead of isolated protein additives.
A 30-second spot called 'Protein Product Madness,' in which a woman enjoying granola encounters absurd protein-added products, comically satirizing the everything-needs-protein mindset.
It's described as the brand's largest media investment ever, spanning US Open broadcast coverage, major streaming platforms, paid social and programmatic, and a full subway station takeover in New York.
Because the category was saturated with brands making the same protein-content claims, satirizing the trend while asserting a real differentiator (whole food ingredients) let the brand stand out through tone and point of view rather than competing on specs.
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