Athenos Brings Back Yiayia

Athenos, Kraft Foods’ line of authentic Greek-style products including feta cheese, hummus and pita chips, has rolled out a new phase of its successful advertising campaign featuring Yiayia, the brand’s opinionated yet endearing Greek grandmother character. Last year’s campaign starring Yiayia saw a double-digit increase in sales while on air.

The character returns in national advertising created by Droga5 New York that highlights Athenos’ commitment to products made with traditional ingredients. Yiayia remains as blunt and opinionated as ever when confronted with modern situations, reserving her approval only for Athenos products.

“Yiayia and Athenos are now interchangeable,” said Anne Field, brand manager of Athenos at Northfield, Ill.-based Kraft.“The brand’s respect for traditional Greek preparation is brought to life through Yiayia’s respect (and demand) for traditional ways of life. We’ve been thrilled with the consumer response to Yiayia and are excited to bring her to a wider audience this year.”

“Athenos is a brand willing to take risks,” said Droga5 CEO Andrew Essex. “The success of last year’s campaign reflects our long-held belief that consumers respect brands and content that speak to them in unique yet relatable ways.”

This year’s crop features the loveably old-fashioned grandmother taking on a pool party and video chatting in support of Athenos feta cheese.

As well as introducing the new television spots, Athenos is backing the campaign and its product line through digital integration and social media activation.