ASK
Market Mike’s Hot Honey to young adults who are unlikely to try intensely spicy foods.
Market Mike’s Hot Honey to young adults who are unlikely to try intensely spicy foods.
INSIGHT
Young adults want to experiment with hot food safely without regretting it.
Young adults want to experiment with hot food safely without regretting it.
CONCEPT
Not As Sweet As It Looks establishes Mike’s Hot Honey as a condiment that appears innocent at first but delivers a fiery kick.
Not As Sweet As It Looks establishes Mike’s Hot Honey as a condiment that appears innocent at first but delivers a fiery kick.
Placed in high-traffic spaces, these ads flip traditionally “sweet” characters into chaotic scenarios to bring “Not As Sweet As It Looks” to life. Flames and claws extending beyond the medium break traditional boundaries, using humor and disruption to make the brand impossible to ignore.
This Scoop magazine ad shows a sweet-looking dog chewing a shoe, reinforcing “Not As Sweet As It Looks” through playful mischief. Running in a publication popular with young adults places the brand within lifestyle content they already trust and engage with.
This in-store activation places flame-shaped holiday recipe cards in the honey aisle, each attached to a 0.5 oz Mike’s Hot Honey packet so shoppers can sample the product while browsing. An accompanying endcap display at the end of the aisle ensures the product is immediately accessible after sampling to persuade customers into a purchasing.
This collection reinterprets household items by using contrasting imagery to reflect the "Not as sweet as it looks" concept. By embedding that tension into everyday items, the collection extends the campaign beyond the bottle and into the home.
Zoe Roth, aka “Disaster Girl,” embodies Mike’s Hot Honey — sweet at first glance, but clearly capable of chaos. Because the meme originated and thrives on social media, launching the campaign there allows the brand to meet audiences where meme culture lives.