What Pompeian and Junction 37’s Win at the Netty Awards Signals About the Future of Brand Video in CPG

The Netty Awards are proud to recognize the work behind Pompeian Olive Oil’s newest brand platform with a Best Brand Video win, and a Best Video Ad Campaign Honoree recognition, celebrating a breakthrough approach in a category not historically known for modern media leadership. The partnership between Junction 37, Pompeian Olive Oil, REBL, and Bruco did not simply win an award based on craft. It won because it proved that brand video can actually expand a category that had been quietly stagnant for years. The work signaled something rare in CPG marketing: that you can pair emotionally ambitious storytelling with precise modern targeting and unlock new demand with both. Pompeian’s win marks an important shift in how food brands use video. It is proof that a brand can honor heritage and still take risks, build emotional resonance while pursuing highly accountable growth, and drive sales without reverting to lowest common denominator retail tactics.

Innovation and Differentiation

Pompeian entered 2024 with a clear intention: break the conventions of olive oil advertising. Historically, the category invested lightly in media. The only significant spending came from two extremes: traditional television from heritage incumbents and scattered social content from challengers. The team saw a clear gap. So they reframed olive oil in culture, not as a commodity but as a source of joy that fuels everyday connection. Pompeian made the decision to go digital first and video-led. The creative did not dwell on product specs or culinary elitism. It focused on feeling, energy, and the pleasure of food. The media strategy was equally progressive. Pompeian bought connected television through Catalina and Amazon, using premium streaming placements paired with purchase-based targeting. That allowed the brand to reach real households with real buying potential, rather than casting a broad awareness net and hoping it stuck. This balance of premium storytelling and precise targeting broke the category’s unwritten rules. It showed that a food staple could borrow the ambition of modern brand marketing, while keeping the accountability that performance marketers demand.

Measurable Impact and Success

This campaign did not just win based on strategy and aesthetic value. It won because it delivered results that are difficult to ignore. The social approach was built intentionally as a two-stage system: a brand video lead in to establish meaning, and then influencer UGC to reinforce, convert, and retarget. The performance of that structure exceeded industry norms. UGC assets delivered a 0.45 percent click-through rate, compared to the 0.12 percent benchmark. That is a 2.75 times lift, proving that the brand message not only made people feel something, but it also made them take action. The decision to test connected television for the first time in Pompeian’s history proved even more transformative. Catalina reported a 39.2 percent sales lift, more than 2.5 times the benchmark, translating to over four million dollars in attributable revenue. The most consequential outcome was this: 51 percent of buyers were new to Pompeian, and 21 percent had never bought olive oil before. Paid media’s contribution to sales grew materially, climbing from 0.74 percent to 2.9 percent. The campaign not only grew Pompeian. It expanded the category itself.

Creative Elements and Execution

The idea behind the creative work was simple but powerful: when someone is enjoying food, you can hear it, you can see it, and you can feel it. The brand story followed a dynamic family, capturing small moments in the kitchen and around the table, all tied together with a clear truth. Where there is Pompeian, joy follows. The creative platform brought to life the sensory pleasure of food. Pizza nights, midnight snacks, grandma’s kitchen wisdom. Those scenes did not feel staged or stylized. They felt like life. The execution flexed across audiences and placements. Long-form video held the emotional thread. Influencer-led content made the message helpful and usable, turning inspiration into action with approachable recipes and myth-breaking education around extra virgin olive oil. The blend of polished brand assets and relatable social content gave the campaign cultural elasticity. The work did not just elevate olive oil. It reframed it as a contributor to life’s happiest moments. It made Pompeian feel modern, human, and grounded in the way real people actually cook and eat.

Overall Excellence and Industry Advancement

Pompeian’s North Star was not only to grow its brand. It was to expand the category and prove modern media could be a growth engine. The task was to shift perception in a category long considered static while driving real business outcomes. The goals were ambitious: a minimum 15 percent sales lift and 39 percent new to brand buyers. The campaign not only met those targets, it exceeded them. Television drove mass reach. Connected television paired brand storytelling with sales-validated targeting through Catalina and Amazon DSP. YouTube extended efficient reach and built intent. Meta delivered engagement and consideration through a mix of brand video and influencer UGC. The work reclaimed the emotional space of cooking. It made the brand feel urgent and culturally relevant. And it showed that category expansion can come from premium creative paired with smart targeting and a meaningful brand purpose. Pompeian’s win at the Netty Awards is not just a celebration of a single campaign. It is a marker in the evolution of CPG marketing and a signal of where brand video is going next.

About the Netty Awards

The Netty Awards are a prestigious awards program that honors top leaders and companies across various industries in the digital age. With over 100 unique categories and a longstanding track record as one of the most trusted organizations in the industry, the Netty Awards celebrate achievements in Design, Social Media, Influencers and Creators, Web, Advertising and PR, and Apps and Software. Recently featured in USA Today for their Top Agencies List, the Netty Awards are recognized as one of the most trusted agency directories for decision-makers.