Honey Maid Ad Celebrates Families Changed by Divorce

First it was family diversity, now it’s families affected by divorce. Honey Maid, the graham-cracker maker with the hot-button ads, has a new marketing campaign that sends this message: “Just because a family has broken up doesn’t mean they are broken.”

Last spring, Honey Made released its first installment of the much-discussed “This Is Wholesome” ad campaign that included same-sex and interracial marriages and had right-wing conservative groups complaining. In its new ad, “#NotBroken,” the company celebrates families that have been reconfigured through divorce.

“Of the 73 million American children under the age of 18, 1 in 10 is currently living within a stepfamily environment,” said Gary Osifchin, senior marketing director of biscuits for Mondelez International, which owns Honey Maid.

At a time when 42% of American adults are members of a “blended” family (i.e. have at least one steprelative) according to the Pew Research Center, Honey Maid’s strategy could be a winning one.

“We’ve seen an overwhelming response to the ‘This Is Wholesome” campaign and we feel that it is critical to continue sharing stories and advertising that truly reflects our consumers,” Osifchin said.

The ad has been released in advance of National Stepfamily Day on Sept. 16 and Honey Maid is encouraging people to use the hashtags #NotBroken and #ThisIsWholesome to highlight themes raised in the ad.