Yop campaign hones in on teen humanitarians

Yop is applauding Canadian teens that make a difference.

Its national “Yop Fuels” effort (the first from the General Mills’ drinkable yogurt product since rebranding it earlier this year) is anchored by two 15-second spots currently running on TV and online.

The first ad spotlights 14 year-old Alex Weber, founder of “Wheels for Wells,” an organization that holds bike rides to raise money for clean water wells in Africa. A second video features 15 year-old Trinity Arsenault, the youngest person to ever swim across Lake Ontario. Arsenault made the trek in an effort to raise money and awareness for subsidized sports charities.

According to Ruth-Anne Culliton, associate marketing manager at General Mills Canada, both teens are big fans of the brand (Weber uses the drinkable yogurt to fuel up before biking, while Arsenault consumes it after swimming) and credit the product with helping them maintain the energy needed to participate in both their athletic and humanitarian ventures.

To encourage others to do the same, the brand is offering two $2,500 grants to teens who can demonstrate how Yop helps fuel their own social causes. “This is an opportunity for us to bring attention to what are doing and celebrate how Yop has fueled them physically, and now we can have a greater role in actually fueling their social initiatives too,” said Culliton.

Developed by the brand’s creative agency Cossette, creative was based on the insight that teenagers are globally aware, more socially connected than ever before, and genuinely believe that they will change the world.

“They don’t blame their parents or other people for the problems that were a part of their childhood, but they do see themselves as the solution. We honestly believe that these kids are the future and we want to be a brand that stands with them and supports them in those incredible things they’re going after.”

The brand is supporting the effort with a dedicated website, YopFuels.ca, via social and digital pushes, and a partnership with “We Day” Toronto and Montreal.

The TV spots will air for six weeks, while the effort as a whole will run for a year.

This article first appeared on MarketingMag.ca