Lunchables​ enlists Quriosity to concoct laughs in new campaign

Sitting on the pedestal in a contemporary, all-white art gallery setting is a sculpture of a small locomotive engine; the art isn’t stone or bronze but crackers, cheese and cold cuts. “It’s fresh, it’s timeless, it's post-contemporary,” gushes an art critic, with his hipster eyeglasses, tweedy sport coat and black turtleneck, as the artist, Liam, who looks to be about 12, does a subtle eye roll.

The critic is Hugh N. Grey, played by Boman, the TikTok and Instagram star whose comic videos have amassed millions of views, and the sculpture is no museum piece but rather a tasty execution in the latest Lunchabuilds This campaign from Lunchables, buildable real food that powers kids forward.

Part of a new three-spot campaign created by The Kitchen, the in-house agency at the Kraft Heinz Company, the work was directed by comedy specialist Kenneth Yoder and produced by Quriosity Productions, the Chicago and L.A.-based creative studio.

The project landed at Quriosity after the company put forth Yoder as the director and cited his chops at just this kind of work. 

“Once a director like Kenneth starts diving into all the possibilities this campaign offered, we knew he could pull out those small comedic nuances that makes a huge difference with consumers,” says Quriosity Executive Producer Qadree Holmes. 

Adds Yoder, “The scripts were brilliant, but the creative team always intended to rely somewhat on improvisation on the set to make them come alive. Having worked with improv artists and kids in the past, I think our approach was what made the work so special.” 

As Lunchables has established itself as a brand geared toward helping kids fuel their creativity and explore their imaginations through buildability, the dynamic of having them explain their Lunchabuilds to a slightly clueless adult worked like a charm. 

“No matter what a kid makes, to their parents, it’s a masterpiece. It’s such a fun and relatable human truth, and perfect to activate Lunchables purpose to fuel kid’s creativity and inspire them to play and build with their food,” says Hassan Ali, Creative Director at The Kitchen. “Since social media is the modern-day fridge front, it’s the perfect place to encourage parents to share and show-off their kid’s masterpieces with us.”

In each ad, Grey goes wild for the kids’ creations, leaving them mildly perplexed. “You are the Michelangelo of snacks,” says Grey to Liam in one spot, while in another, he chimes in, “What a remarkable commentary on human industrial achievement” as young Emma unveils her Lunchables choo-choo.