NATURE’S PATH

Granola Gate

Collaborative Capstone Project for Explore Internship, FCB Chicago
August 2025

The Brief

Shift Nature’s Path from the “eating-clean-no-matter-what” crowd to flavor first snackers who choose indulgence first and see health as a bonus, not a lifestyle.

The Insight

Millennials are the most gossip driven generation, and nothing feels more indulgent than a good scandal.

The Idea

Introducing GRANOLA GATE. A scandal so juicy, it makes organic headline-worthy.
Brother Nature gets caught betraying Nature’s Path with unhealthy snacks (allegedly). The internet loses it. Nature’s Path leans in, unapologetically delicious.

Man wearing a green hoodie and black sunglasses eating a pink and white popsicle.
A man wearing a green hoodie, sunglasses, and a beard holds a piece of pink frosted cake with white edges near his lips, partially obscuring his face as he looks through a hole in his hand, with the thumb and index finger forming a circle.
Man wearing a green hoodie and glasses, partially covering his face, holding a pink soap bar with his right hand, and adjusting his glasses with his left hand.
A smiling man in a yellow and blue polka dot shirt walking with a woman in sunglasses sipping a drink through a straw, in a parking lot on a sunny day.
A man with a yellow bird on his head, sitting cross-legged on a city street, holding a bag of Love Crunch protein granola, smiling with eyes closed as he eats with a spoon.
Two copies of a magazine titled "The Granola Gazette" placed on a white surface with shadows cast across them. The cover features a man with a beard eating a snack, with headlines about organic choices and a mention of betrayal.
Display of magazines titled 'The Granola Gazette' with a cover photo of a man with beard and dark hair eating a snack, and the headline 'Not So Natural?'.
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#SorryNotSorry

The reveal would come from Brother Nature himself. In a short video on Nature’s Path’s social channels, he’d look into camera and say, “People expect me to be sorry, but I’m not. I’d do it again.”

Halfway through, we reveal the “junk food” from the paparazzi photos was Nature’s Path all along. It only looked indulgent because it tastes that good, while still being natural and organic. The video closes with Unapologetically Delicious and #SorryNotSorry.

To extend the reveal, a bold OOH execution would run with the headline “Brother Nature is not a cheater” and a QR code linking directly to the video.

Comparative images of a man with a sad face and a man with a happy face holding a berry-flavored product, alongside a sign reading "Unapologetic Flavor" and the hashtag #SorryNotSorry.
Billboard in an urban setting with a quote about brotherhood and nature, a QR code, and a man's face with a smirk.

My Role

Our capstone was a group project, but I played a leading role in shaping its visual identity and execution. I designed the full suite of deliverables, ensuring cohesion across touchpoints. I also contributed heavily to the art direction, working with the other creatives to establish the campaign’s aesthetic and storytelling. Beyond design, I generated and curated most of the imagery used throughout the project and collaborated on copywriting to refine the campaign’s tone and voice. While the creative process was collective, my contributions spanned design, art direction, image generation, and copy, shaping the way Granola Gate came to life across all touchpoints.

August 2025