In its largest-ever campaign, and first-ever on national TV, pizza chain Mellow Mushroom, Atlanta, will introduce itself to a largely untapped, football-viewing audience. Titled "Clinically Proven," and breaking September 3, the campaign includes four TV?spots (two :30s and two different :15s) and four online shorts (:06s and :15s). It is advertising agency BooneOakley, Charlotte's, first work for the new client.

The campaign was initiated by media research (Scarborough)?which found a large portion of ACC?Network (college football) viewers who were both within Mellow Mushroom's footprint, and unfamiliar with the brand. The TV runs exclusively on ACC, during every Saturday afternoon game of the 2016 season. Mellow Mushroom will be the season's exclusive Official Presenting Sponsor. In October, supplemental online will break, via Crossmedia, Philadelphia, on YouTube (unskippable preroll), Twitter (weekend and ACC-related exclusively), Facebook and Instagram.

The advertising brief was to convey Mellow Mushroom's "laid back" attitude. (On its website the company says it was "born out of the free-wheelin' hippy culture of the 1970s"). The current campaign, like so many seen on sports programming, reflects the drug culture of the 2010s. One :30, titled "ED," focuses on a flirty, middle-aged couple. "You never know when the moment will strike," it begins. A dose of Mellow Mushroom is recommended, although "if you find yourself sitting in a Mellow Mushroom for more than four hours, you may want to go home and come back another day."

Elsewhere in the campaign, we get such medical-ish small type gibberish as "Pizza not to scale." "We didn't conduct any studies to back up these claims. Not even one." "Parmesan cheese is so delicious." [For symptoms such as...] "discomfort... tiny hands... snaggletooth... unibrow," "See our ad in Pizza Health and Fitness magazine," and "Mellow Mushroom is not responsible for fresh ingredients getting stuck in your teeth."

Mellow Mushroom, aka Home Grown Industries of Georgia, privately held, is a full-service pizza chain with 185 locations in 20 states, primarily southeastern, extending west and north to Arizona, Utah and New Jersey. mellowmushroom.com

BooneOakley is a full service, independent advertising agency, with clients including Mellow Mushroom, Bojangles', the Charlotte Hornets, Oh Yeah! (nutrition bars/drinks), Sunbelt Rentals, Wells Fargo Championship (golf), Autobell Car Wash, Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont, The Mint Museum and Levine Children's Hospital. booneoakley.com