Dole campaign creates humorous new meanings for ‘fruit bowl’

A new campaign for Dole has some fun with the “quaran-tensions” of life under lockdown.

Three commercials spotlight homelife stressors with biting humor and empathy. In one spot, entitled 'Bad Words', a couple uses the term “fruit bowl” instead of swearing in front of their kids about the chaos they are causing. The spot closes with the line, “Real fruit for real moments.”

“We are trying to live our purpose by offering Fruit Bowls with a side of humor as an alternative to unhealthy quarantine angst,” said Rupen Desai, global CMO for Dole Packaged Foods in a statement. “Real fruit for real quaran-tension moments is our way of demonstrating that we are listening and providing solutions for the consumer, with a twist. If advertising must be a party crasher, this is us, hopefully, crashing with great wine and a memorable story.”

Campbell Ewald’s Los Angeles office created the spots. In the months since it won the business late last year, it has launched Sunshine For All as a brand theme and produced a coronavirus campaign. In April, its Covid-19 response included an ad about “superhero” essential workers and the masks they wear. The company also donated Fruit Cups to the elderly and healthcare workers around the world.

In another Quaran-Tension ad titled 'Kid Code', a couple of mothers are complaining about their bratty kids, again using the code-term “fruit bowls.”

The third spot, 'Love Language', shows amorous grandparents who signal each other for private time by saying “fruit bowl.”