Gold medal winning Team USA skater Apolo Ohno spearheads a new campaign leveraging the Winter Olympics that promotes Hershey’s Gold brand extension
The short track speed skater, an eight-time Olympic medallist and the most-decorated Winter Olympic US athlete of all time, plays an over-the-top, deliberately exaggerated version of himself in the US chocolate giant’s new creative.
While Ohno won his last three medals back in 2010 (at his last Games) he is still well connected to the Winter Olympics through his role as a commentator on NBC.
The TV work sees Ohno meet with his agent and express surprise as he tastes the bar: he thinks that because he’s representing Hershey’s he’d be promoting chocolate.
The creative plays on the idea that while Ohno loves gold, but that Hershey’s Gold is better: scenes feature Hershey’s Gold bars taped to red, white and blue ribbons to look like medals, plus gold bandannas and even a gold tracksuit.
The TV spots released thus far include ‘Endorsement’,
and ‘Trophy Case’.
As well as leaning heavily on the gold theme, Hershey’s also prominently features its partnership with the US Olympic Committee in the campaign.
Online work, featuring the #TasteTheGold hashtag, sees Hershey also feature other famous Team USA athletes: including four-time gold-medal gymnast Simone Biles.
#HersheysGold is podium-worthy according to my scorecards! Thanks @Hersheys for giving me the #firstbitefeels! #tastethegold #sponsored pic.twitter.com/wG4O4BrSS4
— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) December 1, 2017
The push includes giving out coupons for at least 10,000 Hershey’s Gold bars through posts on Facebook and Twitter each time a US athlete wins gold in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
The Hershey’s Gold campaign has been developed in harness with CP&B (which became one of Hershey’s two main creative agencies in 2017).
Comment:
‘Gold’, which is something of a departure for Hershey’s, is a bar of caramelized creme with bits of salty peanuts and pretzels, was initially teased and unveiled in early November – a launch date deliberately chosen as it marked 100 days from the start of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games (which start on 9 February).
Hershey’s GOLD delivers the fourth flavor of Hershey’s in 117 years: https://t.co/8zmZcr4eZj #TasteTheGold pic.twitter.com/E8SUzo8pOo
— The Hershey Company (@HersheyCompany) November 8, 2017
It’s here. And it’s GOLD. Read more about our latest innovation: https://t.co/8zmZcr4eZj pic.twitter.com/v4cdQniw3j
— The Hershey Company (@HersheyCompany) December 1, 2017
But the core marketing wave featuring Ohno began a month ahead of PyeongChang 2018 and the company is particularly targeting millennials and Hispanics (hence Ohno was chosen to be the product endorser) – both are considered important growth segments.
Gold is the Hershey’s first new bar branded with the company name in 22 years and the first Hershey’s bar ever without chocolate.
But why Gold?
Hershey’s, the USA’s top chocolate maker with a market share around 44%, is facing increasing competition from smaller brands offering unique products, fresh flavours and fewer processed ingredients.
Industry research suggests US consumers are eating more snacks, but seeking products they feel less guilty about eating.
So Hershey is moving in to new categories to transform itself from an old school confectionery company into a flexible snacking powerhouse adapted to changing shopping and food trends and dietary concerns.
So this latest work from Hershey’s sees it test out the kind of marketing tactics more usually associated with a challenger brand than with the market leader.
“This is a big moment. This isn’t just a bar. This is a moment in time for our company where we really feel like this is the next big generation of bars for Hershey,” says Chuck Raup, VP and general manager, chocolate.
Links:
Hershey’s
https://www.youtube.com/user/hersheys
https://www.facebook.com/hersheys/
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/hersheycompany/
https://twitter.com/hersheycompany
CP&B
United States Olympic Committee
https://www.facebook.com/TeamUSA
https://www.instagram.com/teamusa/
https://plus.google.com/+TeamUSA
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/teamusa/
http://www.youtube.com/user/TeamUSA?sub_confirmation=1
