The Bear necessities: 6 non-negotiables of irresistible food advertising

The Bear follows fine-dining chef Carmy, who returns home to Chicago to run his family’s restaurant following his brother’s death. Season three is as relentless and as much a rollercoaster as the others. Tantalizing, evocative, sensual and, crucially, unpolished images of food invite you to eat and savor what’s on the plate and in the kitchen. Every frame is irresistible and unstaged in its depiction. There’s no trying to make the food something it’s not. It’s about the beauty of the ingredients and the stories of the people cooking with them.

The greatest advice for brands comes when we’re introduced to Carmy’s “non-negotiables.

Because he’s fed up with people meddling with his ambition. “These are the scribblings of a madman,” the series’ tritagonist Richie cries. “No,” is Carmy’s response. These are “how restaurants at the highest level operate.”

Which makes you, food marketer, the mad one. If you know who you are and what your food brand is here to bring, you can guide those around you with laser-focused precision.

So, here are six non-negotiables to explore how food and drink brands can learn from Carmy about creating irresistible and effective food advertising.

1. Push boundaries

Carmy’s ambition drives him to always strive for better. Even if that’s at the expense of his health, romantic partnerships and better judgment. He’s not interested in doing what anyone else does.

We must similarly push the boundaries within the realm of what is acceptable in each category. It makes sense to find unique ways to depict a product. Think of the last 15 years of Lurpak advertising or the first years of M&S Adventures in Food. Or we can connect seemingly unconnected things, like a flag in your mayonnaise for distinctive power.

2. Constantly evolve through creativity

Sir John Hegarty states that creativity is the art of putting a bit of yourself into the thing you make. I’d add that creativity in the marketing mix is knowing who you as a brand are and inserting that into everything you do.

Carmy’s evolution from a Chicago sandwich shop to a fine dining restaurant sees him push his own boundaries and, as such, constantly evolve through creativity. Brands must uncover truths, opinions and behaviors that people do, could do, love to do or aspire to do, and connect them back to the brand. Oreo’s ‘Twist on it’ is an impressive example that consumers can and will copy, when contextualised powerfully.

3. Details matter

Beer is yellow with a white foamy head. Chocolate is brown, and yogurt is white. It’s in the details that things come to life. Remember John Favreau fixing the perfect Grilled Cheese Sandwich? Gently surfing the bread over the oily hot plate, lifting its skirt to check the crisp, and hearing the oily sizzle sound. Details deliver the flavor, literally and metaphorically.

Finding a detail that speaks for and of your brand is where the marketing superpower lies. Nail-scraping off the corner of melted cheese that gets stuck on the McDonald’s Cheeseburger wrapping. Tell the story of an onion. Or of a fry. Details remind you of the whole experience in an imaginative way.

4. Less is more

Carmy believes that leaving things out brings more shine to what’s left. Your dream consumer doesn’t really think about your brand that much. Focus your attention on developing one thing well and standing for it time and time again.

Think KitKat, with its central belief that ‘Breaks are good for you.’ Think less, be precise and you might just land yourself a little corner of real estate in your consumer’s mind.

5. Vibrant collaboration

Chef Carmy and young sous chef Sydney are different in every possible way: sex, age, culture, you name it. But there’s a massive overlap in ambition, so their collaboration brings unique things to the kitchen. It’s how diversity works.

We’ve seen successful cases such as Cheetos flavoured KFC chicken, vodka flavoured pasta sauce or Ben & Jerry’s flavored shoes bring out the best of both partners, plus brings audiences together. It’s not one-way traffic but a roundabout with tons of potential exits.

6. Technique, technique, technique

Three times for emphasis, which to me says it’s even less negotiable than any of the others. Reminds me of Hegarty’s saying that advertising is 80% idea and 80% execution.

In our world, there is no wiggle room for quality. If your food doesn’t look delicious, the rest is academic. Shoot it, don’t CGI it. Our brain has six million years of evolution on board to distinguish what is edible and what is not. Style, light, prop, and design, but not AI. For now.

A few to negotiate with

Not all Carmy’s non-negotiables need to be yours. For one, he believes in ‘no repeat ingredients’, whereas we know the most important ingredient in your marketing is repetition. To become famous, you have to become familiar.

Carmy is also a great believer in confidence and competence, the two guiding lights he lives, breathes and works by. Sometimes, his confidence is misplaced, and the constant need to prove himself betrays his insecure core. For a brand, that would be as much a mistake as it is for a chef.

In the opening of the season three finale, seven Michelin star chef Thomas Keller, playing himself, speaks a beautiful monologue to young Carmy. He explains that as a chef, you nurture everyone around you by what you do: your guests, your team, the farmers and fishermen, and yourself.

By the time you get to this episode, watch it with your brand in mind. Because remember: truths in the kitchen really are truths in life.