Grizzly Smokeless, a Reynolds American Inc. brand, was long the number-two player behind Copenhagen—one of the oldest and most established tobacco brands in the U.S., founded in 1822. To drive continued growth, Grizzly needed to build a bold, authentic brand voice—not just compete on price.

Enter Grizzly – Tellin’ It Like It Is, a campaign built to resonate with the brand’s no-nonsense customer base. At its core were hundreds of pub-specific print ads placed nationally in major men’s magazines including Sports Illustrated, Playboy, Field & Stream, and Car & Driver. The campaign was fully integrated, with ongoing support from direct mail, email, point-of-sale, social, experiential marketing, and a variety of contests and promotions.

The results were category-defining. Just two years in, the campaign helped Grizzly surpass Copenhagen to become the top-selling smokeless tobacco brand in the U.S. Annual sales jumped by more than 26%, reaching $783 million with a 31.4% market share and 434 million units sold—more than the total U.S. sales of Big Macs or boxes of Cheerios.