This year’s AFC Championship Game had everything—Joe Cool, a hold-your-chest, game-winning field goal, and…Kroger-brand peanut butter?

That’s right. Kroger, the largest supermarket operator in the country, spent $2.5 million, per iSpot estimates, on an ad that emphasized the brand’s own private-label products, about one-fifth of what Kroger spent nationally in 2022. “When you get proven quality at lower-than-low prices with Kroger brand products, it feels like you’re winning,” the ad’s voiceover said.

It wasn’t the first time Kroger advertised during an NFL game. However, this game was a shot at the Super Bowl for the Bengals, the home team for the Cincinnati-based grocer, Marisa Cranswick, integrated media strategy lead at Kroger, said. “The stars aligned,” she told us.

Big picture: It also comes at a time when private labels are having a moment. Many shoppers have turned to them in response to inflation, according to a recent IRI report. Retailers have responded, expanding their private-label offerings and looking to “lure cost-conscious shoppers,” according to the Wall Street Journal.

• Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen said during the company’s Q4 earnings call that the “quality and value proposition” of the retailer’s private-label portfolio, which it calls Our Brands, “is especially important when inflation is affecting so many of our customers’ lives.”
• “We will continue expanding Our Brands to more categories with innovative product offerings,” he said, noting that sales in the category grew 10% year over year.
• It isn’t small peanuts—Kroger made almost $28 billion in sales from its private-label brands alone in 2021, according to the retailer, which brought in nearly $140 billion in sales that year. Suffice to say, the brand probably could have bought a Super Bowl commercial, had it been interested.

Private labels, specifically food and drink products, generally represent 18%–19% of sales in the grocery industry overall, according to John Owen, associate director of US food and retail at Mintel.

“It’s a big chunk,” he said. “Why would a retailer promote their private labels? Because private label is really profitable versus national brands.”

Keep reading here.—RB

Last week, we asked if you think marketers will spend more on Reddit advertising this year. You were pretty much split: Out of more than 500 responses, 40% said yes and 39% said no, while the rest weren’t sure.

That’s not exactly surprising: Reddit, which is expected to go public this year, is a platform that marketers are interested in but might not be totally sure how to navigate. As Elliott Millard, head of planning at Wavemaker UK, told Digiday: “Reddit straddles an awkward space between social media, blog, forum, and community interest site,” making it tough for advertisers to “put it in a neat box.” And brands don’t want to end up with a Reddit campaign that goes…sideways.

Though Reddit has a smaller user base than platforms like TikTok and Instagram, The Information recently reported that last year, “ad spending by big advertisers on Reddit rose 31% over 2021, according to Standard Media Index.” For comparison, Meta experienced a 22% bump, while Snap saw a 16% increase.

“Reddit has been working really hard to get advertisers to take it seriously as an ad platform, and that hard work is now starting to pay off,” Jasmine Enberg, principal analyst at Insider Intelligence, told The Information.

This week’s poll: Are you going to SXSW? If not, reply to this email and tell us why.

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You’ve probably used a Brannock Device, even if you didn’t know what it’s called. Invented in 1925, it’s the gizmo that measures foot length and width. Although revolutionary at the time, and still popular in stores, more sophisticated measuring devices are challenging the device’s supremacy.

One gaining, in every sense, a foothold in shoe retail is a 3D foot scanner from Volumental, a Stockholm-based startup whose retail partners include Hoka, Red Wing Shoes, and New Balance.

To see one in action, on a recent morning, I headed to an NYC Fleet Feet, the running store that has been using the devices since 2018 in its locations, which today number about 260.

And what I’d learn would be more than just the dimensions of my feet. Among the device’s biggest selling points are ancillary benefits, including capturing customers’ email addresses and reducing returns. Read the full story on Retail Brew.—AAN

There are a lot of bad marketing tips out there. These aren’t those.

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Which headlines are real marketing news, and which one is fake?

1. Miller Lite converts sexist beer ads into fertilizer with help from Ilana Glazer
2. Hellmann’s addresses food waste with temperature-sensitive ‘smart jar’
3. Ranch dressing ice cream being released by Hidden Valley and Van Leeuwen
4. A McDonald’s sponsorship is turning the Oscars ‘red’ carpet yellow this year

Keep scrolling for the answer.

Catch up on a few Marketing Brew stories you might have missed.

• Melissa Hobley puts her touch on Tinder’s first global brand campaign
• Why brand publishing seems to be having a moment
• For this year’s March Madness, ESPN is encouraging basketball fans to trust their guts