Are You Thungry? Naked Juice Coins a New Term in Darkly Comic Ads

In a church full of mourners, a man weeps for the relative he’s lost. This is, by all appearances, a sad day for him.

As it turns out, it’s also a windfall moment because Aunt Beatrice was loaded, and her loving nephew is literally drying his tears with a wad of bequeathed cash. So he’s… happy?

Go ahead and laugh at the gallows humor in this scenario, cooked up by indie agency Fig in its first work for new client Naked juices and smoothies. The slightly subversive concept—rare in the current hyper-sensitive environment—is a means to an end, showing that people can have two contradictory feelings at once. Such as being thirsty and hungry.

Well, that may not be a direct parallel, but just go with it in the name of comedy.

The campaign has coined a new term—thungry—and used the portmanteau as a launch pad for three 30-second spots, including the above-mentioned “Aunt Beatrice.” Also in the lineup is “Mr. Figgles,” in which a guinea pig wakes up after a “very, very long nap,” per the narration, leaving his young owner both “relieved and suspicious.” (You’re right, kid, Mom swapped out your dead pet.)

And in “15 Minutes of Fame,” a woman is surprised to see her son on a TV news show, only to realize he’s wedged in a doggie door and being rescued by firefighters. She’s “both proud and ashamed.”

Naked’s ‘next chapter’

“When Thungry, Get Naked” aims to speak to Gen Z and younger millennials who are driving the functional food trend, which has seen “significant overall growth” in the past few years, according to Jeff Thompson, vice president and general manager of Naked, part of Tropicana Brands Group. 

Competitors in on-the-go, better-for-you drinks are everywhere from dedicated juice chains, coffee shops and fast food restaurants to traditional grocery and convenience store channels.

That explosion of consumer options leads into “the next chapter” for Naked, which will include a major multi-pronged marketing push over the next 12-18 months, Thompson said.

“There’s an increased focus and energy around the brand,” Thompson told ADWEEK, noting that consumers will see “a consistent cadence” of creative and product news going forward.

As an OG in the segment, with quirkiness in its advertising history, Naked plans to use “When Thungry” as an evergreen tagline with myriad executions, per Thompson. He said the dark humor made sense for the target demo and “felt true to our brand equity.”

“It’s a relatable idea—two feelings at once—and it’s a very nice bridge to the story of our brand, ‘a drink you can food,’” Thompson said. “It’s a concept with an emotional hook and a lot of creative breadth.”

Comedy chops

The full tagline, “When Thungry, Get Naked: The Drink You Can Food,” could be considered a spiritual and grammatical cousin of Postmates’ long-running cravings-based slogan, “When all you can food is think about.” 

“When Thungry” comes from legendary director Tom Kuntz, known for classics like the original Old Spice “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” and Skittles “Beard,” along with a raft of Super Bowl spots such as Tubi’s “Rabbit Holes.”

Creatives at Fig had the kernel of the campaign embedded in the pitch for Naked’s business last year, and it evolved after the indie shop landed agency of record status, according to Justine Armour, chief creative officer and partner.

The brief was to “help Naked get its swagger back,” Armour told ADWEEK, “which gave us permission to be more playful and to have a sense of audacity in the work and to lean into something more entertaining.”

‘Dark truth’

That opened the door for a kind of humor that’s not often seen in today’s risk-averse commercials.

“We went for the unexpressed dark truth, because that’s surprising and you haven’t heard it before—that’s what makes it funny,” Armour said. “Many clients don’t want their brand to have any darkness, and you end up with work that has a goofy, wacky energy.”

Aside from being an eye-catching setup, there’s a direct callback to the brand’s attributes, she said.

“The client gave us the latitude to explore duality,” Armour said. “It feels like there’s some cheeky wisdom in that concept.”

Fig used its AI-driven tool called Story Data to scan the competitive landscape and identify white space in messaging. That helped inform the creative choices, Armour said, and led to positioning Naked more broadly as a healthy snack and potentially differentiating it from other wellness beverages.

The agency had an assist from production companies MJZ and ManvsMachine; the latter handled 6-second animations. “When Thungry” spots are running on social and digital channels, including Meta, YouTube, TikTok and streaming platforms such as Disney+, Roku, BET+ and Peacock.