ORRVILLE, OHIO – “If you’ve ever called a GIF a Jif®, we forgive you.” That’s the word from Jif peanut butter and GIPHY as they team up to settle the great debate over how to pronounce GIF (hard-G please), in a playful new initiative created by Publicis Groupe.
The #JifvsGIF lineup includes a limited-edition ‘GIF’ peanut butter jar available immediately on Amazon, a suite of custom Jif GIFs created in partnership with GIPHY, as well as a satirical video written by PSOne and produced by Funny or Die, featuring linguistics ‘Professor’ Gary Goodman (pronounced Jary Joodman) angrily (pronounced anjrily) refuting Jif’s stance.
Are you team Hard-G or team Soft-G? Just in time for National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day on March 1, Jif and GIPHY invite you to fuel the #JifvsGIF debate and proclaim your stance.
The initiative is from Publicis Groupe’s Power of One solution, PSOne, a bespoke agency for The J.M. Smucker Company.
“We’re teaming up with GIPHY to put a lid on this decade-long debate and prove there is only one Jif… it’s creamy, delicious peanut butter, not a looping picture you can send to make friends and family laugh,” said Rebecca Scheidler, Vice President, Marketing of Jif. “So spread the word like Jif on bread—Jif is peanut butter, GIFs are animations!”
“At GIPHY, we know there’s only one Jif and it’s peanut butter. If you’re looking for all the GIFs, there’s only one GIPHY,” said Alex Chung, founder and CEO of GIPHY. “If you’re a soft G, please visit Jif.com. If you’re a hard G, thank you, we know you’re right. Whether you like your Gs hard or soft, let’s all share some fun and let peanut butter unite us in saying GIF and eating Jif.”
“We’re always looking for ways to inject our brands into cultural conversations,” stated Andy Bird, Chief Creative Officer, PSOne. “But in the case of Jif vs. GIF, the brand is the conversation. It’s a debate that’s been going on for a decade, and I’m so proud of the team for finally harnessing the power of this social conversation in such hilarious ways and making it Jif’s own.”
Agency: PSOne
Executive Creative Director: Erica Roberts
Director: Carlyn Hudson
Producer: Michelle Senay
Producer: Nate Vaughan
Editorial Company: Funny Or Die
Editor: Andrew Jewell
Producer: Michelle Senay
Audio Record & Mix: Kylen Deporter