CREATIVE

Cecily Strong makes mornings a little less terrible with Thomas’

By Reel Chicago
September 1, 2026

(Courtesy TBWA)

Cecily Strong spent years owning late nights. Now Thomas’ is asking the Chicago-born comedian to do something considerably more frightening: become a morning person. Strong stars in the breakfast brand’s new “Join the Morning People” campaign, a series of comedic films built around a simple truth apparently shared by almost everyone – mornings can be brutal.

Research cited by the brand says 95% of Americans hate getting up in the morning, which makes Strong, a self-described night owl and former Saturday Night Live standout, a fitting recruit for Thomas’ attempt to make waking up slightly more tolerable.

Created with TBWA + OCX, the campaign pairs Strong with Thom, the brand’s “breakfast provocateur,” in a series of vignettes celebrating the chaos, compromises and occasional victories that come with starting the day.

The spots find Cecily navigating the realities of morning life, whether that means juggling kids and packed schedules, oversleeping or getting up at an ungodly hour to watch an overseas sporting event. The solution, naturally, involves something warm in the toaster. Watch below:

“At Thomas’, we’re on a mission to redefine what it means to be a morning person,” said Leslie Vesper, Chief Marketing Officer at Bimbo Bakeries USA. “We believe great mornings are created, not inherited.”

Strong seems slightly less convinced that anyone needs to become the kind of person who enthusiastically greets the sunrise. “If you told my former late-night self that I’d be leading a crusade to get people out of bed early, I never would have believed you,” she said. “The truth is, mornings are chaotic.”

Her solution is refreshingly modest. “You don’t have to suddenly become a flawless sunrise person – you just need a good breakfast, a sense of humor, and something warm in the toaster to make it tolerable.”

That attitude drives the campaign’s longer film as well as shorter executions including “Busy Parent,” “On the Goer” and “Over Sleeper.”

Rather than pretending mornings will suddenly become magical, the work embraces the fact that most people are simply trying to get through them.

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Thomas’ is extending the idea beyond advertising with its 21-Day Morning People Challenge, encouraging consumers to build a consistent breakfast routine over three weeks.

Participants can sign up through JoinTheMorningPeople.com, while Strong will document her own 21-day attempt to become a morning person across Instagram.

The brand has also partnered with Instacart to reward select participants with gift cards and Thomas’ merchandise through September 17.

The campaign will run across CTV, YouTube, Meta, TikTok and Pinterest, along with Pause Ads on Disney+.

For Strong, who built much of her career entertaining audiences well after breakfast hours, the premise adds an extra layer of comedy.

She may be encouraging America to join the morning people.

But she still sounds like one of us.

CREDITS:

CLIENT: Bimbo Bakeries USA

CMO/SVP of Marketing: Leslie Vesper

AGENCY: TBWA + OCX