ben rice x ben’s rice

Yankees phenom, Ben Rice and Ben’s Rice was a collab that was destined. We launched it just before opening day. And it caught FIRE. Even Aaron Judge had something to say. Every baseball media outlet picked it up. Then, nothing we could ever predicted happened…Ben Rice opened the season with a Home Run.

We launched the collab on Instagram and like any great social campaign, we kept layering on…

 

YANKEE STADIUM OOH TAKEOVER

BEN AND BEN took over the streets of New York right when Ben’s homerun streak was at an all time high. They were strategically placed around Yankee stadium, transit and subway stations, so no one could miss ‘em.

 

BEN’S RICE FIRST BRANDED GIFS: 1.5 million views+
It all started when Ben Rice was called during roll call, he turned around with a fitting reply: he mimed eating rice out of his glove. A meme was born.

So as part of the campaign, we recreated the meme and added a real bowl of rice. The first branded Giphy page for Ben’s Original Rice was made and the fans loved it. More than 1.5 million fans grabbed them and used them to comment. It was a very “meta” turn of events. Ben’s meme filmed for a meme to give fans more memes. (Take a shot next time I say, MEME.)

 

THE PRESS
Ad Age called it the campaign to watch. The Yankees gave it a shout out…followed by Suppwire and Fireside Yankees. And it kept catching; more than 20 earned stories in target sports/lifestyle outlets in the first 7 hours of launch. All putting Ben’s Original Rice right at the center of culture. And they’re just getting started…

 

NO KID HUNGRY
But this campaign isn’t just FUN, it’s GIVING giving. No Kid Hungry joined the campaign to bring real purpose to the partnership. For each amazing play by Ben Rice, 22,000 meals will be donated to kids facing food insecurity across the US, inspired by the number 22 on Ben Rice’s jersey.