Capri Sun Spoofs Romance Novels With 'Juicio' the Jokey Hunk

How sexy are Capri Sun juice pouches? Not very. Even less so, perhaps, with reduced sugar.

Never fear, the brand is spicing things up with Juicio, a faux romance-novel cover hunk who mugs his way through ads breaking today from Goodby Silverstein & Partners.

That chiseled chest! Those stubbly cheeks! That salaciously darting tongue! Dude's kind of odd, actually, but he really loves juice concentrate wrapped in aluminum foil and plastic.

Portrayed to pouty-faced perfection by actor Eric Lutz, the character mugs his way through the :30 below, which promises "a tale of less sugar yet still as juicy."

We use the term "perfection" loosely. Still, he's got great hair! Fabio would heartily approve.

Juicio even gets the Audible treatment, with a three-minute mini-book read by ace narrator Cissy Jones. The story opens with a young mom tossing and turning beneath the sheets, "dreaming of her current infatuation whispering into her ear: 'Lesss sugarrr!' "

Hot stuff—kind of. Good thing Capri Sun's around to cool things down.

"The romance novel was the perfect vehicle to appeal solely to parents in a clever and entertaining way," says Samantha Mills, associate director at Capri Sun distributor Kraft Heinz. "This route also allowed us to create a buzzy trope. This campaign targets parent purchasers by delivering the 'hidden message' in a way that would make kids blush with embarrassment."

Hence the tagline, "Your kids will never know" (that Capri Sun reduced sugar levels across its portfolio by an average of 40 percent). That slogan sounds risqué, in keeping with the campaign theme.

Mostly, it's a cute idea that should generate a few laughs while delivering the brand message. The work follows Capri Sun's "Break Free TV," also from GS&P, a five-part summer web series aimed at kids. Both that campaign and Juicio represent a category refresh of sorts, stressing whimsical entertainment over kitchen-table and playground scenarios.

Short videos are in the works touting the audiobook, ostensibly penned by "Samantha Craven."

"It's the perfect unassuming yet slightly euphemistic author name every Harlequin novel deserves," Mills says.

Of Lutz's selection, she adds: "We were trying to nail down the hair-blowing-in-the-wind persona that you'd associate with a romance novel, and Eric stole the show. He walked into the audition already in character and committed to the persona the entire time. He was Juicio!"

Well played, my man. Now go get a haircut.

CREDITS

Ad Agency: Goodby Silverstein & Partners
Client: Kraft Heinz Company
Title of Creative Work: Your Kids Will Never Know
Live Date: 8/15/22

Client 
VP of North America Marketing & Head of The Kitchen: Jessica Vultaggio 
VP of North America, Brand Communications: Nina Patel 
Associate Director, Brand Communications: Samantha Mills
Brand Manager, Brand Communications: Erin Fitzgerald 
Manager, U.S. PR & Media Relations, Kate Kitchell 

Agency
Creative
Chief Creative Officer: Margaret Johnson
Creative Director: Tony O'Neill
Creative Director: Rony Castor
Art Director: Fabio Santoro
Copywriter: Pedro Furtado
Art Director: Angela Dai 
Copywriter: Sam Carlson 
Copywriter: Alexis Wilkinson 
Designer: Tana Cieciora
Designer: Johann Vernizzi

Production
Director of Production: Jim Haight
Executive Producer: Stephanie DeNatale
Senior Producer: Lorraine Schreyer 

Account Services
Managing Partner: Brian McPherson
Group Account Director: Becca Morris
Account Director: Callen Gustafson
Account Manager: Carmen Guan
Assistant Account Manager: Adrianne Medina

Brand and Communication Strategy
Partner, Head of Brand Strategy: Bonnie Wan
Partner, Head of Communication Strategy: Christine Chen 
Deputy Director of Brand Strategy: Kelly Evans-Pfeifer 
Communication Strategy Director: Drew Forrest 
Brand Strategist: Kelly Kikuchi

Business Affairs 
Director of Business Affairs: Judy Ybarra
Business Affairs Manager: Yelena Kompaneyets

Traffic
Broadcast Traffic Director: Ruchele Eisenman 
Broadcast Traffic Manager: Rowena Cuejilo 

Finance
Finance Operations Manager: Sean Hay 
Client Accountant: Alan Chunlun Su

Production Company
GS&P FILMS RESIDENCE DIRECTORS PROGRAM
Executive Producer: JP Patterson
Directors: The Giraffe Sisters

Editorial, Mix, Sound Design and Music
E-LEVEL @ GS&P  
Editor: Graham Willcox
Assistant Editor: Liz Norris
Editor: David Becker 
Assistant Editor: Steven Castro 
Post Producer: Sumita Rattu
Motion Artist: Mike Landry
Motion Artist: Nick Bizzack
Motion Artist: Chad Ford
Audio Engineer/Composer: David Michel-Ruddy
Audio Engineer/Composer: Nic Dematteo 

Media Agency 
Starcom

Media Client Support
Director: Alyssa Kelly
Associate Director: Maddie Franke
Supervisor: Jennie Hubbard
Senior Associate: Diana DeLeon