AdMiration feature: Folgers’ “The Best Part of Wakin’ Up”

For this week’s AdMiration feature, we looked at consumer response to Folgers’ “The Best Part of Wakin’ Up” ad, which turns the brand’s recognizable jingle into a medley of famous songs about waking up.

Read on to get our 3-2-1 snapshot of the ad (3 facts, 2 learnings and 1 reflection) and learn how their ad was received based on our data.

The ad opens to a close-up shot of coffee brewing with the words “The Best Part of Wakin’ Up” and the Folgers logo on screen as someone hums their famous jingle. 

The scene shifts to a woman in bed being handed a warm cup of coffee as The Everly Brothers’ “Wake Up Little Susie” plays on the alarm radio. The scene shifts again to a young woman rocking out in her kitchen in her PJs to Evanescence’s “Bring Me to Life” as her coffee brews. Then again to a very tired dad singing to Avicii’s “Wake Me Up” as his kids fight in the back of the car.

The medley continues with a dog walker being pulled through a park by a pack of dogs to 4 Non Blondes’ “What’s Up,” then a man singing to The All-American Rejects’ “Give You Hell” as he washes his clothes at a laundromat and a young woman singing Aretha Franklin’s “I Say A Little Prayer” as she gets ready for the day.

Finally, the scene shifts once more to a chef walking through a kitchen, coffee mug in hand, singing Folgers’ iconic jingle. The ad concludes with a close-up shot of brewing coffee and the Folgers logo quickly changing fonts until it lands on the original lettering.

3 facts

• This is a strong ad that lands in the top 10% of US ads to drive short term sales (Sales Impact: 91) and the top 20% for its ability to drive brand equity over the long term (Brand Impact: 84).

• The spot resonates well with viewers and makes them feel good about the Folgers brand (Overall Emotion: 69 vs. 57 norm), with most viewers feeling Love as their dominant emotion (Love: 41% vs. 27% norm).

• The ad had a significant effect on viewers’ purchase intent, resulting in  a 31% purchase uplift (compared to a 22% norm) — which means the ad helped boost immediate consideration for the brand.

2 learnings

• Music is a wonderful way to connect with your audience as well as capture their attention! Folgers used music in a clever way with this spot, with the lyrics and tones referencing the actions taking place as well as the diversity of people through the diverse song choices. People listed the audio and music (25%) as the most-liked aspect of the ad, indicating the soundtrack and sound design was a key driver of the ad’s appeal (Musical Appeal: 4.4 vs. 3.8 norm). Some even shared: "The music was awesome. It was super relatable and had something for everyone. I enjoyed it. The music really kept my attention better than most ads." and “The music was very catchy and it was fun to see all the different people, like the dog walker and the chef, having a good time while starting their day with a cup of coffee. It felt very positive."

• Focusing on positive, relatable storylines can help people feel good about your brand. In this case, Folgers did a good job picking relatable coffee moments that made so many people able to see themselves in the ad — from the woman singing and dancing to “Bring Me to Life” by Evanescence while her coffee brews to the man walking dogs and singing “What’s Up” by 4 Non Blondes as he sips his coffee. Each of these scenes also made viewers feel something positive (Overall Emotion: 69 vs. 57 norm) which translated to positive feeling about the brand (Brand Appeal: 4.2 vs. 3.9 norm) — a win for a campaign trying to reach new generations! 

  1 reflection

Are you keeping your distinctive brand cues fresh? Making sure they’re consistent but adapting their use for today’s audience?

Folgers iconic jingle “The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup” has been around since 1984 — and while it allows most viewers to instantly recognize the brand, it’s important for the brand to keep using it in new ways to avoid becoming stale or dated. 

With this spot, Folgers delivered a fresh take on their jingle, keeping it at the heart of the story but including a medley of songs viewers across generations could relate to so that it feels fresh but also familiar. This type of fresh consistency is a great way to build memory over time as well as reach new audiences — all while still staying true to your brand.

The 179 year-old brand has reimagined their iconic jingle for new generations in this spot created by PSOne, directed by Calmatic and led creatively by BBH USA. 

With many consumers seeing the brand as out-of-date and popular with older generations, Folgers was looking to reposition themselves as a coffee brand for everyone in this spot that spans various genres and generations — keeping its recognizable jingle at the heart. 

As Emily Lucci, Vice President of Marketing, The J.M. Smucker Co., shares, “By reimagining our iconic jingle, we’re reclaiming Folgers’ authority around ‘waking up’ in a way that feels modern, meaningful, and true to who we are.”

Yohan Daver, Group Creative Director of BBH USA, adds, “Folgers already owned one of the most recognizable jingles in advertising. Our job wasn’t to replace it; it was to remind people why it matters.”

The campaign will run across multiple channels including national TV, online video, social media and Spotify audio placements.

This ad delivered a fresh soundtrack from Folgers that audiences loved, landing in the top 10% of US ads to drive short term sales and the top 20% for its ability to drive brand equity over the long term.

With the brand’s iconic jingle at the heart, the ad really stands out, making for a very distinctive ad that allows it to drive great reach and be noticed and remembered (Distinctiveness: 4.1 vs. 3.7 norm, Claimed Attention 4.3 vs. 3.9 norm, Brand Distinctiveness 4.0 vs. 3.7 norm).

The ad also does a great job conveying some key things about the Folgers brand, with 63% of respondents agreeing the ad shows that Folgers has “great taste,” while 55% say it’s a “trusted brand” and 50% say it has “rich flavor.” 

And those numbers are higher for those 45+, with an incredible 74% saying that Folgers has “‘great taste” — showing that the ad resonates with older generations. 

Many of these positive attributes go hand-in-hand with how positive the ad makes viewers feel about Folgers (Brand Appeal: 4.2 vs. 3.9 norm) with many feeling like Folgers delivers what they need from a coffee brand (Brand Meets Needs: 4.4 vs. 4.1 norm).

It’s no surprise that the ad resonates very strongly with audiences. They really enjoy it (Enjoyment: 4.1 vs. 3.8 norm), find it relevant (Relevance: 3.9 vs. 3.5 norm) and they understand it (Understanding: 4.4 vs. 4.2 norm).

And the ad makes people feel something (Overall Emotion: 69 vs. 57 norm), primarily love (Love: 41% vs. 27% norm)!

What’s interesting about this ad is that the moments with the most laughter are also the moments with the most love — with the highest peak of both emotions occurring when the man is walking the dogs and singing “What’s Up” by 4 Non Blondes, followed by the moment when the woman is singing and dancing to “Bring Me to Life” by Evanescence while making coffee in her kitchen. There’s also a lot of love when the Folgers jingle is hummed at the beginning and when the chef sings the traditional jingle at the end. 

Overall, Folgers did a great job at picking moments that make people laugh and smile as they recognize the songs and appreciate the moments with coffee in morning — making it feel very relatable.

Diving deeper into what people liked, respondents listed the ad’s audio and music most (25%), which was uplifting and full of energy, indicating the soundtrack and sound design was a key driver of the ad’s appeal (Musical Appeal: 4.4 vs. 3.8 norm). They also responded positively to the diversity of people and characters (18%) as well as each of the scenarios, which helped make the ad so relatable. They also noted the ad’s emotional appeal (12%), further suggesting the human element and feeling landed well.

Here’s what some people had to say: 

• "I really liked how upbeat the commercial felt. The music was very catchy and it was fun to see all the different people, like the dog walker and the chef, having a good time while starting their day with a cup of coffee. It felt very positive."

• "I love all the different people drinking Folgers and singing different songs with the words "wake up" in them. It's very clever and original."

• "I loved the music!!! I also liked how it showed a bunch of different people in different situations that people often drink coffee in."

• "I like all the different types of people in the ad. I liked that it was showing them enjoying themselves. I loved the music."

• "I like the energy of people and the enthusiasm that they have for having their coffee."

• "The music was awesome. It was super relatable and had something for everyone. I enjoyed it. The music really kept my attention better than most ads."

All of this ultimately led to increased consideration for Folgers! (Purchase Uplift: 31% vs. 22% norm) — just what a brand hoping to attract new audiences would hope to see!

What a fresh, relatable medley from Folgers! What did you think? Let us know by interacting with our coverage of the ad on LinkedIn.

To make sure you never miss one of our AdMiration analyses, subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletter.