In 2012, Nabisco (a subsidiary of food conglomerate Mondelez) decided to rebrand Fig Newtons by shortening the name of the iconic snack cookie to just “Newtons.” Three years later, Mondelez is continuing its quest to let consumers known that Newtons come in more flavors than just fig. Office workers with anthropomorphic fruit heads take center stage in Now We’re Newtons, a web series about the ongoing Newtons rebrand.
The protagonist of Now We’re Newtons is a fig-headed office drone whose family has worked at Fig Newtons since the snack’s 19th-century inception. In modern times, he is joined by several other fruits, including a raspberry, a strawberry, and an apple. The series begins with as the “Fig” portion of the company’s name is removed from a sign in its office.
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The following episodes feature plenty of fruit puns and office infighting among the Newtons team. It’s the answer to the question, “What would happen if The Annoying Orange went corporate?”
Now We’re Newtons, created by ad agency Weber Shandwick, ties into “A Lot of Fruit to Give,” a charity campaign Newtons is running with Feeding America.”We took a step back and asked ourselves: what’s the brand’s most strategic storytelling opportunity to infuse new life into a more-than-a-century old biscuit brand and consequently, encourage participation in this charitable program?” Weber Shandwick creative director Jim Paul told Co.Create. “Enter Now We’re Newtons, an episodic, irreverent social sitcom that tells the fruit-centric story of a company in transition from being run by figs to not just figs anymore.”
Now We’re Newtons is one part of Mondelez’s massive presence on YouTube. In addition to the huge upfront deal the conglomerate struck with YouTube in 2014, it has also sponsored web series like Breaking Out, which features its Sour Patch brand.
