From the outside of its cage, it is the most ordinary of household animals: a hamster. But unbeknownst to its owner, there is something remarkable about this pet. 

A musical hamster is the unusual star of a new campaign from Pringles, which promotes its new Multigrain range with the tagline “Wonderfully different.” Created by agency Grey London, the ad draws an unexpected parallel between the brand’s Multigrain chips and a hamster that composes songs on a tiny keyboard. 

After launching its trio of healthier Multigrain flavors in September, Pringles is giving a marketing push to the range this year to attract more consumers.  

The brand wanted to convey that Multigrain is “just like a normal Pringles chip, but slightly different,” said David Wigglesworth, executive creative director of Grey London. “We didn’t need to over-claim; we just needed to spark intrigue. That’s where we landed on the idea ‘Same, yet wonderfully different.’”

The ad is set in a young man’s living room, where he and two friends are sitting on a couch trying Multigrain Pringles for the first time. One of his friends observes that the chips are “wonderfully different”—just like his hamster. 

Yet somehow, the man has never before noticed that his hamster is a little weird. He turns to his pet’s cage again as if seeing it for the first time. Inside, a curtain parts and a stage rises from the litter as electronic music begins to play. In the center of the small stage is the hamster, giving an emotional performance on his keyboard. 

“We wanted to find something that was instantly relatable … then give it a ‘wonderfully different’ twist,” Wigglesworth explained. “In this case, it was the pet hamster that has lived in the corner of every house across the country. Only this guy has a life and a soul. He is a performer, a savant—definitely not your normal hamster.”

While many brands use animal mascots in their advertising for an instant cute factor, Pringles and Grey took it a step further. The agency created miniature gig posters for “Synth Hamster” and fly-posted them around London and on social media to tease the campaign. Later, the rockstar rodent also plans to release an album. 

The ad will run on U.K. TV, online and social media. Jeff Low directed it through production company Biscuit Filmworks. 

“People are increasingly conscious about what they eat, but they don’t want to give up on taste which remains the #1 category driver. The new Pringles Multigrain range opens up a new taste dimension, and this fun and surprising campaign is sure to spark curiosity and trial,” Elena Mancini, marketing manager for Kellogg’s EU, said in a statement.

CREDITS:

Client: Pringles​
Creative agency: Grey London​
Global chief creative officer: Javier Campopiano​
President & chief creative officer: Laura Jordan Bambach​
Executive creative director: David Wigglesworth ​
Global group creative directors: Christopher Lapham, Aaron McGurk​
Creatives: Christopher Lapham, Aaron McGurk​, Cameron Sutherland
Design: Christopher Lapham, Aaron McGurk​
Agency planning partner: Lee Barber​
Agency strategy director: Gilliam Caldwell-Dunn  ​
Managing partner: Agi Varanyi​
Group business director: Tamsine Foggin​
Account director: Alice Ashwell ​
Agency executive producer: Nazneen Read​
Agency senior producer: Anthony Borkett​
Assistant producer: Angel Nkomo​
Agency project manager: Elly Knott​
Media agency: Carat​
Planning partner: Greg Paterson​
Market planning director: Chantelle Townsend​
Account director: Becky Linares​
Planner: Oli Rose
Production company: Biscuit ​Filmworks​
Production company producer: Kwok Yau​​
Production company executive producer: Rupert Reynolds-MacLean​​
Director: Jeff Low​
D.O.P: Matthew Emvin Taylor ​
Production design: Ollie Hogan ​
Edit house: Shift Post London​
Editor: Saam Hodivala​
Edit post producer: Kirsty Oldfield​
Edit assistant: Adam Buckmaster​
VFX studio: Untold Studios: ​
VFX CD: Ben Cronin​
VFX supervisor: Rebecca Clay​
Lead artiste: Tom Moreland ​
VFX artists: Rich Harris​
VFX producer: George Reid​
VFX executive producer: Ian Berry​
Color: Untold Studios​
Colorist: Julien Alary​
VFX executive producer: Ian Berry​
Music composition: Jeff Low​
Sound studio: Gramercy Park Studios​
Sound engineer/head of audio: Zak Kurtha​
Executive producer (sound): Richard Donaghue