Fantasy football is one of America’s largest social rituals, with millions of fans investing months of strategy, pride, and bragging rights into their teams. It is also one of the hardest cultural spaces for brands to enter. Fans are deeply protective of their community and skeptical of brands that show up without fluency in its humor, customs, and competitive stakes.
While Kraft Mac & Cheese has long been a beloved comfort food, it had never earned a role as a football watch-party essential. The brand needed to move beyond nostalgia and prove it belonged at the table during modern game-day culture.
The opportunity emerged when rookie NFL tight end Tucker Kraft entered the league. Drafted by the Green Bay Packers, famously known as “Cheeseheads,” and nicknamed “YAC & Cheese” for his elite yards-after-catch performance, Tucker presented a rare cultural alignment between product, player, and fandom.
Rather than simply sponsor an athlete, Kraft Mac & Cheese set out to become part of fantasy football itself.
Our objectives were to:
• Establish mac and cheese as a game-day watch-party staple
• Authentically engage fantasy football fans during the most competitive moment of their season
• Drive measurable brand conversation and purchase intent
• Convert cultural relevance into sustained sales growth
Instead of interrupting fantasy football culture, the brand aimed to play the game alongside fans.
Fantasy football fans care most about one moment: draft day.
It’s when rivalries begin, trash talk peaks, and every decision feels consequential. Fans are highly active online, making it the rare window where participation matters more than media spend.
Our strategy was simple. If fans were already drafting players, Kraft Mac & Cheese would give them a reason to draft ours.
On fantasy football’s biggest draft day, we launched “Draft Kraft, Get Kraft,” offering fans a bold wager. Draft rookie tight end Tucker Kraft to your fantasy roster and receive a free box of Kraft Mac & Cheese.
The idea mirrored the risk and reward at the heart of fantasy sports. Fans were putting their season and reputation on the line for a rookie ranked only eighth among tight ends.
Execution focused on showing up exactly where fantasy culture lives.
We hijacked draft day across top fantasy platforms with targeted placements timed to coincide with live player selection. As fans debated picks and finalized lineups, the brand entered the conversation at the exact moment decisions were being made.
Tucker Kraft amplified the campaign across X and Instagram, platforms where fantasy chatter and trash talk dominate. Every touchpoint directed fans to a dedicated microsite where they could submit proof of their draft pick and claim their reward.
Momentum accelerated immediately.
Fans flooded social feeds with screenshots of their picks using #DraftKraft, turning participation into social proof. The campaign leaned into real-time engagement, responding to fans, celebrating bold picks, and fueling ongoing conversation long after draft day ended.
The biggest challenge was credibility. Fantasy players reject obvious advertising.
Rather than forcing relevance, Kraft Mac & Cheese embraced the absurdity of the coincidence and leaned fully into fan humor. The brand behaved less like a sponsor and more like a league participant, speaking the language of trades, wagers, and competitive risk.
What began as a cultural coincidence became a fan-driven movement that lasted weeks into the NFL season.
“Draft Kraft, Get Kraft” didn’t just enter fantasy football culture. It reshaped it.
The campaign turned a rookie ranked eighth among tight ends into the #1 most-drafted tight end in fantasy leagues, outperforming established NFL stars and proving fans were willing to bet their seasons on the brand’s challenge.
Conversation surged across sports and culture media, with fans driving momentum through organic sharing and debate.
The cultural win translated directly into measurable business impact.
Results included:
• 237M+ earned media impressions
• 382% increase in brand mentions across social media
• X engagement rate 290% above industry benchmark
• 100% positive PR sentiment
• Coverage across USA Today, Sports Illustrated, and leading sports culture outlets
• Most talked-about mac and cheese brand on social during the campaign period
• +9% increase in purchase intent
• An additional 50,000 boxes sold per week
Kraft Mac & Cheese didn’t just advertise during football season. It earned a permanent role in fantasy football fandom, turning draft-day risk into cultural relevance, sustained conversation, and measurable sales growth.
