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Draft Kraft
Agency The Kitchen North America + Kraft Heinz / Chicago + Alison Brod Marketing + Communications / New York
Category
Social Media
Annual ID
OS26_BS037M
Background
Kraft Mac & Cheese has long been a beloved comfort food, but it had never earned a role as a football watch-party staple. We wanted consumers to see mac and cheese as a dish that belonged at their weekly game-day parties.
The perfect opportunity came when Tucker Kraft entered the NFL. Not only did he share our name, he was drafted by the Packers (aka “the Cheeseheads”), and nicknamed “YAC & Cheese” for his elite yards-after-catch (YAC) stat. It was a once-in-a-lifetime moment that gave us permission to engage fantasy football fans in a fun and authentic way.
The perfect opportunity came when Tucker Kraft entered the NFL. Not only did he share our name, he was drafted by the Packers (aka “the Cheeseheads”), and nicknamed “YAC & Cheese” for his elite yards-after-catch (YAC) stat. It was a once-in-a-lifetime moment that gave us permission to engage fantasy football fans in a fun and authentic way.
Creative Idea
On fantasy football’s biggest draft day of the year, we offered die-hard fans a trade they couldn’t refuse: Draft Kraft, Get Kraft. The campaign challenged fantasy players to put their season on the line by drafting Tucker, risking bragging rights and potential humiliation, but earning a free box of our mac in return. What started as a perfect cultural coincidence became a bold draft-day wager only Kraft Mac & Cheese could make.
Insights & Strategy
Fantasy football fans are deeply skeptical of brands that show up without relevance or reason, so our strategy was to make Kraft Mac & Cheese part of the game. By launching on draft day we earned relevance before the season even started and caught fans during their most engaged and online moment.
Our idea played into fantasy humor and behavior, showing up on the platforms fans use to draft players, talk trash, and make trades. The result was a brand act that felt less like advertising and more like a culturally-fluent fantasy play.
Our idea played into fantasy humor and behavior, showing up on the platforms fans use to draft players, talk trash, and make trades. The result was a brand act that felt less like advertising and more like a culturally-fluent fantasy play.
Execution
To launch, we hijacked draft day, fantasy football’s biggest time of the year. Our ads took over top fantasy platforms, promoting Draft Kraft, Get Kraft just as players were making their picks. We also posted with Tucker on X and Instagram, two platforms where fantasy chatter is most active. Everything pushed fans to a microsite where they could share their team to get their free box of Kraft Mac & Cheese.
Draft day momentum snowballed as fans flooded social feeds with #DraftKraft screenshots, picks, and reactions. We kept the hype going with regular posts and real-time engagement with fans, turning a single occasion into a rolling brand moment that lasted weeks.
Draft day momentum snowballed as fans flooded social feeds with #DraftKraft screenshots, picks, and reactions. We kept the hype going with regular posts and real-time engagement with fans, turning a single occasion into a rolling brand moment that lasted weeks.
Results
The campaign took a cultural coincidence and turned it into a fan-driven moment that dominated fantasy football for weeks. We drove a 382% rise in brand mentions on social and earned over 237 million impressions. Our campaign even changed fantasy itself, taking Tucker from the eighth-ranked tight end to #1 and beating out the league’s other more famous stars.
Most importantly, the cultural win translated to our bottom line delivering a 9% spike in purchase intent and an additional 50,000 boxes sold per week. We earned millions in free media, a place in fantasy football, and a winning score across awareness, relevance, and sales.
IMPACT:
● 237MM+ Earned Media Impressions
● 9% Spike in Purchase Intent
● Sales Up An Extra 50,000 Boxes Per Week
● 382% Rise In Brand Mentions On Social
● Twitter Engagement Rate 290% Above Industry Benchmark
● 100% Positive Sentiment For PR
● Most talked about mac & cheese brand on social media for duration of the campaign
● Coverage included top-tier sports and culture publications like USA Today, Sports Illustrated, and Heavy
● Tucker Kraft became the #1 drafted tight end (even though he was ranked #8)
Most importantly, the cultural win translated to our bottom line delivering a 9% spike in purchase intent and an additional 50,000 boxes sold per week. We earned millions in free media, a place in fantasy football, and a winning score across awareness, relevance, and sales.
IMPACT:
● 237MM+ Earned Media Impressions
● 9% Spike in Purchase Intent
● Sales Up An Extra 50,000 Boxes Per Week
● 382% Rise In Brand Mentions On Social
● Twitter Engagement Rate 290% Above Industry Benchmark
● 100% Positive Sentiment For PR
● Most talked about mac & cheese brand on social media for duration of the campaign
● Coverage included top-tier sports and culture publications like USA Today, Sports Illustrated, and Heavy
● Tucker Kraft became the #1 drafted tight end (even though he was ranked #8)
2026 Awards
Total Points: 3
Merit
Credits
Brand-Side / In-House Agency
The Kitchen North America
PR / Marketing Agency
Alison Brod Marketing + Communications / New York
Client / Brand
Kraft Heinz / Chicago
Content Creator
Sonia Faye
Creative Director
Damon Crate
Emma Arnold
Executive Creative Director
Simon Au
Producer
Gabs Santos
Social Media Manager
Jessica Augurusa
Group Strategy Director
Lizeth Medina
Head of Strategy
Kathleen Bokar
Senior Art Director
Katie Nugent-Bowman
Max Franklin
Senior Copywriter
Emily Akins
Social Copywriter
Sahil Pradeep
Account Coordinator
Maddy Violi
Account Director
Jennifer Feldman
Group Account Director
Sara Bank
Head of Accounts
Karin Carlisle
Head of Production and Operations
Julie Benevides
Head of The Kitchen
Tom Evans
Influencer Director
Lisa Bell
Senior Manager, Influencer
Holly Kitts
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