Jollibee reinterprets 'Joy of Family' tagline, adopts sombre tone in global spot

Jollibee's first global brand campaign features a perspective-changing story about the times everyone is currently living in, reinterpreting the brand's tagline of "Joy of Family" in the current context of the pandemic. Done in collaboration with BBH Singapore, it is a departure from the brand's usual campaigns, taking on a sombre and realistic tone as it goes into the future to record a nostalgic and emotional story of a migrant Filipino family based in the US.

The brand highlights the story of how consumers are able to see what's most dear to them - their families - in the darkest hours, despite having their lives upended worldwide. From physically spending every waking hour together in lockdown to long video calls across continents, family was what got everyone through. 

The 3-minute-long campaign film titled “A Message from the Future”, shot in New York and directed by Law Chen, is set in 2060 and shows a grandfather recounting his memory of the pandemic to his grandchildren. The story starts off on a bleak note but gives way to hope and joyful family moments that could have only happened because the family spent more time together, a transition highlighted through the film's progression from black and white shots to coloured ones.

The film was launched on 16 May and is a grand culmination of Jollibee’s new Family Thanksgiving month initiative, which was launched to encourage everyone to always appreciate and be thankful for their families.

Francis Flores, JFC’s Philippines country marketing head and Jollibee PH marketing head, said Jollibee as a brand has been all about the joy of family, and while in current times it may be difficult to focus solely on that aspect, the brand realises just the same that there is a silver lining in all this.

"Coming from a powerful truth that we are spending time with our families more than ever, it has never happened before and may never happen again – we wanted this campaign to acknowledge the grim reality of the current pandemic but still give a positive message of hope. It’s all about appreciating these moments with them and finding the ultimate joy with family," he said.

BBH Singapore's CCO Sascha Kuntze said the team has gotten a little tired of seeing empty streets and locked up places in commercials. "The pandemic was and is a lot more personal. To really make an impact we wanted to show a perspective nobody had explored before," he said. BBH Singapore was appointed to handle creative duties for Jollibee last January, overseeing the brand and communications strategy and execution across international market projects.

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