Lay’s, Disney throw snacking for a loop in TV ad takeover

The Groundhog Day ads feature Stephen Tobolowsky from the namesake movie.

Courtesy of Frito-Lay

To commemorate Groundhog Day, Frito-Lay brand Lay’s and Disney Advertising signed a sponsorship deal for eight custom ads, produced by Maximum Effort and KIMMELOT, set to run on ABC on Friday, February 2.

Starring actor Stephen Tobolowsky, who played an iconic character from the 1993 cult classic feature film of the same name; and Artemis Pebdani from “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” the ads, which spotlight eight flavors of Frito-Lay chips, bring viewers into a questionable time loop where Tobolowsky experiences the “same” day over and over again with the only variation being a different chip flavor. You can see the ads here.

Lay’s serves as the sole sponsor of the Groundhog Lay’s activation, marking the first time Disney has offered an exclusive sponsorship opportunity featuring a brand suite across an entire day. The ads will air during ABC’s ‘Good Morning America;’ ‘GMA3;’ ‘General Hospital;’ ‘Shark Tank;’ ‘20/20;’ and ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ on February 2.

The spirited creative endeavor was developed in collaboration with Ryan Reynolds’ production and marketing company, Maximum Effort, and Jimmy Kimmel’s creative lab, KIMMELOT. This marks the fourth time that Maximum Effort and KIMMELOT have collaborated on a custom project, including the development of retro 80’s spots for ABC’s “Live in Front of a Studio Audience.”

“Creativity is at the core of everything we do at Frito-Lay and that allows us to bring fun ideas to life over, and over, and over again,” says Chris Bellinger, chief creative officer with Frito-Lay. “We are excited to entertain our consumers with an unconventional series of custom spots that play on the theme of an iconic film and day.”

“Creativity is at the core of everything we do at Maximum Effort and that allows us to bring fun ideas to life over, and over, and over again,” says Ryan Reynolds, co-founder of Maximum Effort. “We are excited to entertain our consumers with an unconventional series of custom spots that play on the theme of an iconic film and day.”

“Creativity is at the core of everything we do at Kimmelot and that allows us to bring fun ideas to life over, and over, and over again,” says Jimmy Kimmel. “We are excited to entertain our consumers with an unconventional series of custom spots that play on the theme of an iconic film and day.”

“Creativity is at the core of everything we do at ABC and that allows us to bring fun ideas to life over, and over, and over again,” says John Campbell, senior vice president of entertainment and streaming solutions, Disney Advertising. “We are excited to entertain our consumers with an unconventional series of custom spots that play on the theme of an iconic film and day.”

The spots will air live on ABC on Friday, February 2. The ads also will run on Hulu.

Jenni Spinner is the chief editor of Snack Food and Wholesale with more than 25 years of experience in business-to-business communications. She has written extensively about food production, safety and packaging; pharmaceutical drug development; concrete and masonry construction; and more. She holds a Bachelor’s in Communications from the University of Illinois. Jenni can be reached at spinnerj@bnpmedia.com.

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