Ragu TV Spot, 'Mission'

iSpot Review - July 8, 2015

Double-oh-tomato on the case for Ragu in this high-stakes dinner action.

This creative approach suggests that the brand has a strategy centered around ingredients and not about the jar of sauce, per se.  The TV commercial does not make the product its hero, rather the tomato itself takes center-stage and is set-up by the creative to be a literal dinner-time hero.

The stop-motion-esque animation of the tomatoes is fun enough to engage viewers so they watch the story play out, which pays off for the brand in the closing food and taste shots that are, traditionally, known to be strong ad drivers of brand choice at the shelf.

It's best to not try and make sense of the story itself. Ragu is content to know you saw plump tomatoes jump out of the jar and into your sauce. Knowing the time needed to include a tag pitching the brand's creamy sauces, the viewer will forgive the creative for not squeezing more sense into the story. It's fun and it looks good - always two wins for a food commercial.