Jimmy Dean's new spokesperson - The Sun

A $25 million campaign by TBWA/Chiat/Day Los Angeles is breaking tomorrow for Jimmy Dean featuring the Sun (yes, as in that really, really hot orb in the sky). The press release gives a taste at the cheesy feel the campaign seems to encompass with a quote from the Sun.

"I'm used to being the center of attention and I've been eating Jimmy Dean for as long as I can remember," said The Sun. "To put it simply, the stars were in alignment for this partnership. I'm a breakfast lover -- it's my favorite meal. I really believe that every great day begins with a Jimmy Dean breakfast. In fact, you can usually tell by the weather report."

The tagline "Happy Breakfast" will attempt to reinforce Jimmy Dean as the traditional breakfast experience.

The campaign will include television advertising, national print ad, national and regional radio advertising, as well as in-store promotions.

The initial television phase of the campaign will include five new spots and several radio spots that "will feature a humorous look at The Sun, his breakfast habits, family life, and how Jimmy Dean fits into his hectic, on-the-go lifestyle".

TV spots:
- In "Morning Sunshine" (:30) and "Partly Cloudy" (:30) we are introduced to The Sun and his family and learn that he loves to start his day with Jimmy Dean

- "Running Late" (:30) begins with The Sun having overslept, but his wife literally saves the day by preparing him a microwaveable Jimmy Dean sandwich

- "Why" (:30) features The Sun preparing breakfast with his daughter and showcases the company's new line of Jimmy Dean Breakfast Skillets

- "Rooster" (:30) shows The Sun demonstrating one of his favorite "dad tricks" to his daughters, as he prepares Jimmy Dean Sandwiches for breakfast

Radio:
- "Fresh" (:60), "Sandwich" (:60) and "Skillet Grocery Store" (:60) are some of the radio spots featuring one-on-one interviews between a news anchor and "self-proclaimed breakfast enthusiast," The Sun

Lewis Lazare of the SunTimes isn't impressed with this personification of the Sun, gives the ads a D+.

TBWA's latest stab at trying to get it right introduces us to "The Sun." Yes, you read it right. The agency has created a new brand icon by taking that dramatic golden orb and making it a sweetly paternal doofus in a sun costume that looks to be a sorry reject from some grade-school theatrical production mounted on a very, very low budget.

In each of four 30-second spots, we see The Sun getting up in his suburban bungalow, and interacting with his wife or children and eating breakfast. The conversation is hardly what we'd call smart or memorable. In one commercial presumably intended to promote a quick and easy Jimmy Dean skillet breakfast product, The Sun informs his daughter he has to get to work early to "light and heat the earth." No kidding. Or is he? Tone is a real problem in these executions.