Butterball Thanksgiving: Making Hosting Feel Human
Overview
The Challenge
Thanksgiving is Butterball’s most important moment of the year - but younger, first-time hosts often feel intimidated by the pressure of “doing it right.” The goal wasn’t just reach, but shifting sentiment: making hosting feel fun, approachable, and confidence-boosting rather than stressful.
My Role
Led influencer marketing strategy and execution across paid and earned - including creator selection, creative direction, partnerships, and campaign pivots.
The Idea
A Product-Led Story Built for Social
Instead of leading with traditional food content, we partnered with Hedley & Bennett to create custom “hosting pants” - a playful, unexpected hero product designed specifically for Thanksgiving hosting.
The pants included thoughtful, humorous details like a built-in thermometer pocket and bottle opener, turning the act of hosting into something self-aware and fun. Social was the primary place the story lived.
The idea wasn’t to sell perfection - it was to normalize chaos and make hosts feel like they could still “win” Thanksgiving.
Creator Strategy
Warmth Over Hype
Butterball is an extremely brand-safe company, so creator selection was critical. Instead of chasing the biggest names, I focused on creators who felt:
Warm and trustworthy
Self-aware and humorous (without irony)
Credible to millennial audiences
The goal was to make the content feel native and human - not like a brand trying too hard to be funny.
Execution
Paid + Earned, Working Together
Paid:
We anchored the campaign with a larger creator to carry the narrative. When our first choice fell through late in the process, I led a fast pivot - bringing in David Henrie and rebuilding the creative around him without losing momentum or clarity.
The story arc was simple and shareable: everything goes wrong while hosting Thanksgiving, until the hosting pants turn him into the unexpected hero.
Earned:
We also seeded gifting packages with the hosting pants to food and fashion creators who genuinely loved the concept. Many shared organically, extending the campaign beyond paid placements.
