embracing counterculture to erase valentine’s day!

Brand Context

Cadbury 5 Star is a playful and youthful chocolate brand. It is known not only for the caramel infused nougat chocolate but also for its quirky, fun personality and bold campaigns that resonate with a younger audience seeking indulgence and light-hearted escape.

Situation Context

Valentine’s Day and chocolates have been a match made in marketing heaven for decades. Most chocolate brands register sales peak during the occasion.

Every year, a wide range of relevant brands jump into the mix, eager to capture the hearts of consumers with clever, love-themed campaigns. While the competition creates a cluttered ad space, it also offers a prime opportunity for brands to stand out and make their mark.

The Challenge

Stand out against Valentine’s Day clutter and leverage the occasion to drive brand love.

The Insight

Every Valentine’s Day, while brands push love-filled campaigns, millions of singles across the country are bombarded with romance they want no part of. For them, February 14th becomes a dreaded day - a relentless reminder of their single-hood, turning the celebration of love into a frustrating and isolating experience they’d rather avoid.

The Strategy

Resonate with and become an integral part of the youth (counter)culture while disrupting the typical Valentine’s Day narrative by literally erasing 14th February. The idea was to build anticipation and excitement by creating awareness around a ‘shared mission’ to embed 5 Star in their lives.

The Execution

Since 5 Star’s TG is GenZ dominated, the campaign was designed to be strictly digital. The campaign was phased into 3 parts:

  • Phase 1:  Amplifying the case to raise awareness about the mission.

  • Phase 2: Building consideration for the mission and engaging audience to increase relevance of mission for all the singles.

  • Phase 3: Creating buzz on both, digital and on-ground, with countdown to drive traffic to the live event.

This phasing was crucial to building awareness and belief in the mission. Key touchpoints used included:

  • YouTube masthead,

  • X takeover,

  • category A influencers,

  • floating billboards, visible from strategic youth-centric locations,

  • sand art, on the most youth-crowded beach of Mumbai, and

  • college hostel activation.

The Results

  • Reach of over 53% of brand TG i.e. 235M+ consumers.

  • Over 2.2M campaign engagement leading to over 1.2M people watching the live-stream.

    3% uplift on ad awareness, with a standout VTR of 52% on the main asset.

  • 99% positive sentiments towards the campaign.

  • Earned media of 7.9M.

The Impact

  • Cannes Bronze Lion

  • Kyoorius - Best Use of Digital Media

  • Kyoorius - Best Topical Experiences & Activations

  • Kyoorius - Best Topical Branded Content

  • GoaFest - Best Use of Social Media