NERDS Gummy Clusters: A Candy Star is Born

    Creative Experiences
    Total Commerce

Challenge

In 2024, NERDS was on the precipice of a monumental brand revival. Their latest hit, NERDS Gummy Clusters, had become a candy juggernaut, with sales skyrocketing from $50 million to a staggering half billion dollars in just five years. Seizing the momentum, NERDS saw an opportunity to make a grand re-entry with a high-octane Super Bowl LVIII ad, capturing the attention of an estimated 115 million viewers and targeting households across the board.

Insight

For the commercial to truly breakthrough, NERDS faced a colossal challenge: create an ad that was not only entertaining but also showcased the epic union moment of NERDS gummy and classic NERDS candies in an entertaining and authentic way. The solution: Infuse the beloved NERDS brand with cutting-edge 3D animation, propelling it into the 21st century while staying true to its playful essence.

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Kickstarting Gen Z Household Penetration Through A Flashdance-inspired Super Bowl Debut

For decades, the iconic Nerds characters served as the tiny, happy-go-lucky spokes-critters for NERDS, gracing every package and marketing material. But in this new NERDS-era, the characters we’ve known since the 80’s were in need of a modern-day makeover.

The new commercial brought back the beloved Nerds characters in vibrant 3D and introduced a new "Gummy" character to embody the candy's gummy center. With stunning CGI, a familiar soundtrack, and dazzling visuals, it reinvigorated the brand, inviting viewers to "Unleash Their Senses" with NERDS Gummy Clusters.

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The ad bridges generations by using "What a Feeling" from the 1983 film "Flashdance," subtly referencing NERDS' launch year. It also features Gen Z influencer and NERDS fan Addison Rae, appealing to the younger audience driving the brand's resurgence since the 2021 launch of NERDS Gummy Clusters.

To bring to life the multi-sensorial playground of NERDS across platforms, Digitas built unexpected sensory-enabled formats and hype-worthy foundational media amplification through creative teaser videos featuring Addison Rae, custom Snap AR experiences, Tik Tok Takeover Shake Ads, and more.

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In addition, a full omnichannel campaign was developed in collaboration with agency partners to get football fans to consider and purchase NERDS Gummy Clusters for their game-day spread. This was done via targeted messaging, geo-targeted displays, earned media efforts, and NERDS Gummy Cluster sweepstakes-push notifications intercepted shoppers buying online and in-store. A partnership with GoPuff allowed for real-time deliveries, further integrating retail media with commerce to create a fully immersed digital activation plan. 

The results were phenomenal. We exceeded campaign benchmarks, achieving over 840M impressions, more than 700 earned media mentions, securing over 260K in-store displays, and selling over 2M units of Gummy Clusters.

  • Top 10

    Most Liked Super Bowl Commercial (ISPOT, 2024)

  • 400%

    Increase in Nerds eComm Sales

  • 200%

    Increase in Nerds Store Displays