Gorton's Seafood Relaunches the Gorton's Fisherman in Ad Campaign

Gorton’s Seafood is reintroducing its Gorton’s fisherman in a new advertising campaign created by its agency of record, Boston-based Connelly Partners. The 2017 version of the Gorton’s Fisherman has the gravitas of the original character, first introduced by the company in 1975, but he’s depicted as a fish out of water in real life in a series of videos directed by SaturdayNight Live director, Mike Bernstein.  

In the series, the character has all the unadulterated confidence in the world. The only problem is he applies those principles to life on land which proves to be unorthodox, though gets the job done. Scenes play out in a series of seven videos that will run with paid support on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter throughout the year. 

For example, “Real Deal” features a bar full of hipsters in their too-cool-for-school wardrobes. When the Fisherman enters the scene there's a moment of revelation where the hipsters realize, they're looking at the real deal.   In "Coach” the Fisherman gets a bit carried away with the excitement of the game, dumping a cooler of ice water over the coach’s head after an epic play, only it’s not water, it’s a bucket of fish on ice.  In Bachelor Pad, the Fisherman tries to apply the meticulous upkeep of his vessel to the technique of cleaning his apartment, which doesn’t really translate.  Other spots revolve around the Fisherman trying to find romance, fill out his basketball brackets, and more. Each spot ends with self-awareness from the brand that they can be trusted for great fish and meal time goodness, but not the other stuff.

“For 167 years, Gorton’s has been singularly focused on providing the best seafood possible. says Chris Hussey, vice president of marketing at Gorton’s Seafood. “We loved the idea of bringing back this trusted icon and embracing the idea that we’re good at what we’re good at, and proud of it. Each one of our short videos starring the Gorton’s Fisherman was created to be entertaining and work well on social platforms.”

The campaign centers on reaching “Busy Fuelers”: busy people who crave delicious, convenient food that they can make at home.  As part of the campaign relaunch, Gorton’s redesigned website (also created and developed by Connelly Partners) offers content and solutions for people looking for travel-inspired recipes, ideas for families with picky eaters and information on the health benefits of seafood among many other ideas.

Also running on social platforms throughout the course of this campaign, will be three Tasty videos featuring content integration with various Gorton’s product lines. This buy lines up especially well given the target of busy people who love great food.  

“This work is a celebration of the Fisherman’s one-track mind, and his confidence that lets us know he’s the slightest bit in on the joke,” says Steve Connelly, president of Connelly Partners.  “Our fisherman can be trusted for great, quality fish, but we can’t expect him to give up his dedication to fishing and act like the rest of us. These spots, as well as all the work we’re producing for Gorton’s, are hyper-focused on catering to the Busy Fueler who wants the people providing their food to be focused on nothing but the food.” 

The first of the fisherman spots, the new consumer website and the initial Tasty video will launch in early February.