French Butter Makes it Look Easy in Home Chef Campaign

A new campaign for the meal kit brand Home Chef, created by Chicago agency O’Keefe Reinhard & Paul and directed by French Butter’s Brett Froomer, shows everyday people tackling the task of making delicious, great-looking meals at home in a way that’s simple, authentic and ultimately pleasing.

The campaign includes spots like “Hand in Hand,” in which a young woman is seen unboxing her Home Chef meal and easily going through the steps to prepare what the on-screen graphic calls “looks-like-it-took-a-long-time-salmon” in about 30 minutes. The commercial bounces back and forth between shots of the woman prepping and cooking with lush photography of the food itself, resulting in a visual taste treat coupled with a quick tutorial. 

You can check out the first spot from the campaign by clicking here, and the second here. 

“It’s Almost Like,” which functions as more of an anthem, the spot’s voiceover addresses head on the frustration and intimidation some consumers feel about diving into a meal kit preparation at home, but points out that, regardless whether it’s a quick meal, a full dinner or a 5-minute lunch, “Home Chef makes delicious food simple.” As the spot plays out we see triumphant Home Chef users showing off the sumptuous dinners they made themselves – before digging in, of course. 

This marks the second campaign Froomer and French Butter have produced for the brand, and so capturing its essence felt familiar to the director and his crew. “With these spots we set out to emphasize both the appeal of Home Chef, thanks to their incredibly ‘craveable’ dishes that heighten the dining experience we call dinner, and to illustrate the fact that anyone can embrace, prepare, enjoy, and share these offerings, regardless of what level of culinary experience or expertise they have,” explains Froomer.   

For their part, the agency was impressed with the approach French Butter brought to the assignment. “Brett is a true food lover and brings that passion to his work,” says OKRP Group CD Marian Williams. “He knows what good food is, and challenges himself to make it look as delicious as it tastes. His approach was very food forward, which was important to us, and he presented the homes and dishes with a level of truth and imperfection that we really appreciated.” 

French Butter’s production strategy was designed to combine efficiency with productivity, according to EP Ivo Knezevic. “We wanted to show a wide range of dishes, so we had two setups going concurrently while prepping a third, to ensure we got as much coverage as possible. Over the two-day shoot we covered six meals, working with four kitchen setups per day, which resulted in a high volume of content that could be shaped into a variety of deliverables. And Brett brought in a food stylist who also did props, so the work had a distinctive visual motif that makes the ads stand out."

“What we were doing with the food photography was to generate what feels like shareable imagery, like that absolutely wonderful meal you cooked at home and couldn’t resist posting on Instagram,” adds Froomer. “It’s got the feel of something you made yourself, but it looks fantastic. Keeping that sense of realism made a huge difference.”

OKRP’s Williams says the agency appreciated the planning that went into this project. “Working with them was a pleasure,” she remarks. “The environment is fast paced, exciting and fun. Brett is warm, energetic and very open to collaboration on set. This was our second food shoot together, and once again we were very happy with his work.”