Dive Brief:

Kraft Heinz's Philadelphia Cream Cheese brand has released the "Bagel That," a device that turns anything into a "bagel," according to a press release shared with Marketing Dive.

The novelty device can put a hole into a waffle, a pancake, a hamburger bun or even a slice of pizza, making it suitable for cream cheese. "If it looks like a bagel, put Philly on it," the campaign proclaims, offering a video to show how the new tool makes this act possible.

The limited-edition tool is available on Amazon for $9.99, and Philadelphia Cream Cheese invites fans to share their "bageled foods" on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Dive Insight:

As a brand, Philadelphia Cream Cheese has been notably linked with one food item: the bagel. This new campaign is partly a tongue-in-cheek way of expanding the universe of cream cheese-able surfaces to demonstrate the product's versatility while driving earned media on social platforms. Expanding the traditional idea of a product has also been used by Frank's Red Hot, with the brand's "I Put That $#!t on Everything" campaign.

In addition to testing the limits of cream cheese-eligible surfaces, the effort is also using Amazon to test the possibility of selling related products that could become a fad. Last November, cookie brand Oreo attempted a similar feat, releasing a miniature turntable that used its cookies instead of vinyl records, playing four pre-recorded tunes when a mock record needle was placed on the cookie. That item sold on Amazon for $20, completed with a tin of selected Oreos.

As Mondelez did with the Oreo turntable, Kraft Heinz teaming with Amazon could help bring Philadelphia Cream Cheese and its "Bagel That" device to a larger audience. Amazon has worked to court CPG and food marketers that are interested in the conversion and transactional data that it can share with partners. Relatedly, Kraft Heinz brand Maxwell House Coffee partnered with Amazon and its Prime Video service on an exclusive order.

In the novelty product category, other recent notable efforts include KFC’s limited-edition firelog that smelled like the brand's fried chicken, Busch beer's Busch button that cancels uncomfortable conversations by soothingly repeating the brand’s name, and Stella Artois' robot bartender that serves drinks and cleans up after itself. With these products, brands look to generate social media buzz and give a sense of personality to its products.