Bobbie Enlists 'Make-It-From-Scratch' Star Nara Smith to Skewer Parenting Pressure
Baby formula brand Bobbie has enlisted influencer Nara Smith — known for making everything from scratch — in a satirical campaign that admits some things can't be homemade, reframing formula feeding as a valid choice and turning a cultural tension into brand fuel.
The campaign
Bobbie, the challenger infant-formula brand, has released a tongue-in-cheek campaign starring Nara Smith, the creator who built a huge following by making seemingly everything — from cereal to chewing gum — from scratch. The joke writes itself: even the queen of homemade concedes that formula is one thing you don't need to DIY. Adweek reported the work on 17 September.
By casting the internet's most famous 'from scratch' figure, Bobbie turns a potential source of parental guilt into a punchline, and positions formula feeding as a perfectly good choice rather than a compromise.
Why the casting is the strategy
This is a masterclass in casting as message. Nara Smith is not a random celebrity endorsement; she is the living embodiment of the exact pressure Bobbie wants to defuse. Putting her in a formula ad is inherently newsworthy and self-aware, which is why it travels far beyond a paid media buy.
The deeper move is emotional. Parenting content online is saturated with idealised, unattainable domesticity, and that creates guilt. Bobbie is selling permission — the reassurance that using formula does not make you a lesser parent. In a category built on anxiety, permission is a powerful and under-used position.
Turning cultural tension into brand fuel
The smartest brands find the tension in their category and lean into it rather than tiptoeing around it. Formula's tension is guilt versus practicality. By naming that tension with humour and a knowing wink, Bobbie makes itself the brand that is on the parent's side, not the brand that adds to the pressure.
It also neatly co-opts the aesthetic of the very content that causes the anxiety. Using an influencer against type — the from-scratch icon endorsing the un-scratchable — is a creative device more brands could borrow when they want to flip a cultural narrative.
What marketers should take from it
Audit the emotional tension in your category. Is your customer being made to feel guilty, inadequate or behind? If so, there may be a powerful position in relieving that pressure rather than amplifying it. Permission-based marketing builds loyalty because it makes people feel seen.
And when you pick a partner, choose for meaning, not just reach. The right creator can carry your entire message in a single casting decision — which is far more valuable than a big follower count attached to a forgettable brief.
Quick FAQ
Who is Nara Smith and why cast her?
Nara Smith is a creator famous for making everything 'from scratch'. Casting her in a formula ad is a self-aware joke that defuses parenting guilt and normalises formula feeding.
What is Bobbie's strategy?
Bobbie uses humour and permission-based messaging to reframe formula as a valid choice, positioning itself as the brand on the parent's side rather than one that adds to the pressure.
What can other brands learn?
Find the emotional tension in your category and relieve it rather than amplify it, and choose creator partners for meaning and fit rather than raw reach.
Bobbie didn't just book an influencer, it weaponised her meaning. Casting the internet's 'from scratch' icon to say some things shouldn't be homemade defuses parental guilt in a single decision. That's the lesson: in an anxiety-driven category, the strongest position is often permission — be the brand on your customer's side, not the one adding to the pressure. — Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing
The takeaway: in categories built on guilt or pressure, the most powerful brand position is permission — relieve the tension your customer feels rather than amplifying it, and cast partners for meaning, not just reach.
Is your category quietly making customers feel guilty or inadequate — and could relieving that pressure be your strongest brand position?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
Sources: Adweek.
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Written by Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute
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