Sploosh! Splash! Ocean Spray Brings the Cranberry Bog Indoors
Pull on your waders! Ocean Spray brings soggy bog action indoors for silly ads that drop today.
You’ll see dating shows, diner scenes and corporate video calls—all with participants waist-deep in red berries.
It's like a cran-pocalypse, with Orchard Creative backing the brand's juices and snacks.
Once again, Ocean Spray does absurdity right—not too tart or sweet. As for introducing "Johnny the Farmer," he's ... Creepy? Crusty? Hawt? He just seems to fit in this damp crimson universe.
"We are looking to gain traction with new, younger audiences—continuing to appeal to Gen X and millennials and looking ahead toward Gen Z," Monisha Dabek, SVP and chief commercial officer, tells Muse. "In our new campaign, we take this effort a step further as we 'Just Add Cran' to everyday moments—bringing our farmer and bog into relatable scenarios that resonate with that younger audience."
"In doing so, we're tapping into more of a higher emotional connection with this audience and showcasing cranberry's transformational power—all while striking the balance of relatability, culture and our bog-driven equity," she says.
AI and CGI weren't used. Instead, Anonymous Content director Max Sherman brought large "bog tanks" onto studio sets. (Even the diner, which looks quite authentic, was built on a soundstage.)
And yes, most of the cast performed while submerged in the sloshy stuff.
"We wanted to ensure that the water and the floating cranberries reacted realistically to any movement from our new cranberry farmer) and the other actors," recalls Orchard creative director Conor Dooley. "We then partnered with the fine folks at Ntropic to extend the edges of our bog tanks to create that full-bog effect in a seamless and realistic way, even down to the wicking of water going up peoples' clothes."
The team would empty, move and refill the tanks for each new set-up, "which was a slow and arduous process," Dooley says. "But we all agreed that the striking visual of a cranberry bog magically flooding a game show set, or a diner, was worth getting exactly right—and that the more realistic it appeared, the more impactful it would be for viewers."
"I don't envy the poor actors sitting there in wet jeans for take after take. But at least the water was warm—that was the only unrealistic aspect of our bog. And thankfully everyone seemed to have a great time on set, submerged or not.”
The work runs for the next few months across streaming TV, online video, banners, social, in-store displays and more.
