WPP and Ogilvy UK Celebrate Philadelphia’s Ability to Nourish Authentic Friendship Moments

Philadelphia, WPP and Ogilvy UK today unveil ‘You’ve Got a Friend in Philly’, a new global brand purpose, positioning and campaign. The household favourite cream cheese has a new mission - to spread friendship.

The new ‘Spread friendship’ brand positioning celebrates Philadelphia’s ability to nourish authentic friendship moments. Drawing upon research by Ogilvy’s behavioural science team, the positioning brings alive the insight that Philadelphia is seen as an inherently comforting and social way to connect, something that is always there for you whenever you need to create something simple and delicious.

This highly-emotive strategic positioning is brought alive in a 360° creative platform – ‘You’ve Got a Friend in Philly’. Created by WPP’s All Star Team, led out of Ogilvy UK - and supported by INGO, VMLY&R Italy, and Ogilvy Madrid - the platform powerfully brings to life authentic friendship moments. It launches with a heart-warming hero film that shows a lifelong friendship, sparked and sustained by little moments of connection over bites of Philly. This is supported by digital executions that show how Philly is always there to provide something tasty, whatever the moment.

The campaign will run across TV, Cinema, Social, and launches in the UK and Ireland from Monday 19th, and then rolls out across Europe and beyond. The TVC includes a 45” and 20” edit, and was directed by Vince Squibb. Philadelphia is also spreading friendship with a new website, pan-European PR campaign, Influencer partnerships and design world.

As part of the new design world, Ogilvy UK’s design team created a new stunning global typeface, identity system and art direction based on the idea that Philadelphia is a friend to food. The team crafted a friendly and delicious font named ‘Mmm Sans’ that delivers on the taste appeal Philadelphia is famous for. Custom ‘flourishes’ express the delightful, indulgent feeling of spreading rich and creamy Philadelphia, with the same warmth and playfulness that you find in all good friendships.                            

“Ogilvy discovered that hidden in our namesake city of Philadelphia, among the letters, was something special. ‘Philia’ is an ancient word for the love we have for our friends. The Ancient Greeks thought this love was more important than romance or family, but modern life has stretched us thin, leaving our friendships deprioritised and millennials feeling lonelier than ever.  Deeply rooted in its heritage, we all agreed that Philadelphia could remind people to break bread with their friends.” said Derya Seyman, head of brand equity Europe.

“Friendships define us. But overwhelmed by devices, platforms and noise friendships are in crisis. It has never been more crucial to appreciate and celebrate those around us that make us feel seen, heard, sane, loved and cheerful. You’ve Got a Friend in Philly is a campaign for our chosen family, leveraging craft, creativity and science to create impact.” said Jules Chalkley, chief ECD, Ogilvy UK.

“Beyond our Philia friendships discovery, Ogilvy's behavioural science team also examined the science of why Philadelphia is so comforting from both a physiological and psychological perspective. Looking at everything from the deep-rooted memory structures that associate rich creaminess with being nurtured and cared for, to how consumption in our childhood shapes how we feel about a product as adults - this deep psychological lens on the product allowed us to unlock even more psychological value, naturally found within the product itself.” said Dan Bennett, partner & UK lead, behavioural science at Ogilvy Consulting.