Kedem Grape Juice bears witness to momentous occasions and heartwarming scenes throughout the Jewish year and life cycle.
The goal was to illustrate nostalgic images, hearkening back to simpler times, and to bring back those joyous sentiments.
The Kedem bottle was featured in these scenes in a natural, matter-of-fact manner, as a part of the family and staple throughout those life moments.
The campaign was launched by mailing postcards to every other house in 5 large Jewish hubs. We aimed for the "Did you get the Kedem postcard yet? " buzz, and we got it.
Perfectly apropos to the summer season, the campaign began with nostalgic “road trip” down memory lane—to the summer of 1989. A vintage-looking, grape juice-stained postcard, featuring custom illustrations by acclaimed Reader’s Digest illustrator Chris Payne, hearkened to those much-anticipated childhood trips upstate that so many of today’s 30+-somethings vividly recall. A year when Etch-A-Sketches and Walkmen were the en route entertainment as we sat squished with our siblings in the backseat of the family Mercury station wagon and counted down the exits on Route 17, refrains of “Are we there, yet?” on our lips, punctuated occasionally by the sound of our mothers flipping the Regesh tape over for the hundredth time.
The postcard signed off with the words "See you on the 17" - and they did; with Kedem billboards on Route 17, a familiar greeting for travelers driving upstate.
The summer road trip upstate was also a tradition in which Kedem played an unassuming, yet important, part. As the postcard, written directly to the reader, says: From all of us at Kedem, thank you for trusting us with the seforim, Shabbos shoes, baseball gloves, and every toy in the closet for your trips upstate. We've been there for the bickering, heard the same songs, played every version of 'I Spy,' and eagerly counted down all the exits on Rt 17. And after all these years, we still don't quite know the answer to 'Are we there yet?’”
With the slogan “Great Since Way Back,” the campaign built a bridge between the past and future, highlighting the relevance of a brand that keeps on innovating until today, while also tapping into its longevity and the sense of family and tradition that have been its hallmark for the past seventy years.
The central idea revolved around a unique phenomenon. When asked, "What is the earliest memory that comes to mind when I say Kedem Grape Juice?", customers would begin to paint vivid images of their childhood, of spending time with loved ones near glistening Sabbath candles... Some described the moment from the perspective of a child looking up at the Kedem bottle, which always graced the most sentimental life moments.
Sample consumer response:
I'm 7 or 8 years old, seated near my father in the corner of our dining room. The year is 1992; we're in our first home. A chandelier sparkles in my eyes, and there are wood and pink upholstered chairs... There's a shining warmth from the Sabbath candles. I see my mother whispering something to my sister while my dad sways to and fro, singing the traditional grace. There's horseradish and pickles on the table - there was no gazpacho dip back then... Sabbath was simple, warm, and filled with light.
“That’s really what the Kedem brand is all about—bringing people together. We’re so proud of the commitment to perfection that the Kedem brand has come to stand for, and to have become a staple in Kosher homes and on Shabbos tables around the world. With Hashem’s help, we hope to continue the Kedem tradition of culinary innovation for at least another seventy years!”
Mordy Herzog, CEO, Kedem Foods.
In a newsworthy publicity stunt, Kedem took its ad-wrapped trucks to camps in the Catskills, distributing travel-sized grape juice bottles to the delighted campers. Each camp joined to create the name "Kedem", as a drone took an aerial group photo - the first use of drone photography in a kosher food brand campaign.
To wrap up the campaign at the summer's end, free boxes were distributed in the mountains for families to pack up their memories of a brilliant summer season.
The campaign was multi-channel, tapping consumers via their mailboxes, billboards, vehicle wraps, and print and online media.