Aquamar takes aim at chicken

Aquamar is taking its latest seafood products from the trade-show floor to supermarket shelves, pairing a refreshed brand identity with a provocative campaign challenging chicken’s dominance in American meals.

The surimi and convenient seafood company has begun rolling out new products across the Southeast, with distribution planned for the West Coast and Midwest over the coming weeks.

The launch includes Pan-Seared Pacific Cod varieties, Crispy Scallop Bites, and Salmon Wellington with Cheddar, Lemon and Spinach. Aquamar said the products are intended to make seafood simpler to prepare while delivering restaurant-style flavour and convenience for everyday meals.

“Consumers are hungry for more seafood, but too often, convenience and routine keep them reaching for the same meals,” said Daryl Gormley, Aquamar chief executive. “We’re flipping that script.”

The retail launch is being supported by Aquamar’s new ‘Chickensanity’ advertising campaign, developed with ONE23WEST. The campaign takes aim at what the company describes as ‘Big Chicken’, positioning seafood as an alternative to repetitive chicken-based dinners.

Drawing on horror-film imagery, the campaign portrays the monotony of eating chicken repeatedly as something consumers should escape. Some original longer-form advertisements were considered too intense for mainstream viewing before 7pm, prompting edited versions for wider audiences.

Aquamar is also taking the campaign offline, using out-of-home advertising near fast-food chicken restaurants. One piece of creative uses the line ‘Give Chicken the Bird’ to challenge consumers at the point of choosing their next meal.

“Big Chicken has spent decades making itself the easy answer to ‘what’s for dinner?’” Gormley said. “We’re here to give people a more interesting answer.”

The campaign builds on Aquamar’s 2026 brand refresh, which introduced a new logo, vibrant packaging and an expanded portfolio under its ‘fuss-free seafood’ positioning.

The company said the strategy represents a departure from traditional seafood marketing, replacing conventional imagery of boats and pristine seafood dishes with horror, entertainment and challenger-brand themes.