Johnsonville Brattender Campaign Brings Home Silver, Bronze Effie Awards
As the fictional character celebrating and promoting grilling enthusiasm each year, the Johnsonville Brattender has not only captured the attention of backyard grillers and tailgaters, but national advertising leadership as well.
Sheboygan Falls, Wis. – The 2014 North American Effie Awards recognized the Johnsonville Brattender campaign with a Silver Effie in the packaged food category and a Bronze Effie in the influencer category. The campaign was created by advertising agency Cramer-Krasselt’s Milwaukee office. The Effie Awards are known by advertisers and agencies globally as the pre-eminent award in the industry, and recognize all forms of marketing communication that contribute to a brand's success. Since 1968, winning an Effie has become a global symbol of achievement.
The Johnsonville Brattender, who has an irrational passion for bratwurst, leads a campaign that dispenses grilling wisdom through digital and social media channels, primarily on the company’s YouTube, Pinterest and Facebook platforms. Since the campaign launched in 2012, views of the Brattender campaign have surpassed 1.5 million and Johnsonville’s Facebook community attracted several thousand fans. The most popular Brattender video to date, “Don’t Pierce the Brat,” is modeled after an '80s power ballad and is a humorous parody that captures the angst and passion true grilling experts feel when the “cardinal rule of grilling brats” isn't followed.
“We emphasize the Effie awards because winning one requires a true insight, breakthrough creative work and measurable results,” said Betsy Brown, executive vice president and general manager of Cramer-Krasselt’s Milwaukee office. “To win an Effie, you also have to have a great client, and we have one of those in Johnsonville. These wins are an example of what can happen when a client and an agency form a true partnership.”
About the 2014 Effie Awards
The North American Effie Awards honor the most effective marketing efforts of the year. An annual program, the competition attracts case studies from the most successful marketing communications campaigns in the United States and Canada. The Effie Awards were launched in 1968 by the New York American Marketing Association as an awards program to honor the most effective advertising efforts.
Wisconsin-based Johnsonville Sausage is the No. 1 national sausage brand, featuring: brats, Italian sausage, smoked-cooked links, breakfast sausage, Grillers and meatballs. Johnsonville products are served in 125 professional, college and semi-pro sports stadiums throughout the U.S.
Johnsonville employs approximately 1,600 members. Founded in 1945 by the late Ralph F. and Alice Stayer, the privately held company remains family owned today, providing various sausage products in 40 countries. For additional information, visit www.johnsonville.com.