NERDS has come a long way since its initial conception. Its latest and greatest innovation, NERDS Gummy Clusters, is a snackable twist that merges the crunch and tang of classic Nerds candy with a sweet, chewy gummy center. Each bite is an explosion of flavor and texture that surprises and delights.
It’s bold. It’s next-level. It’s unlike anything else on the shelf. But despite already having a cult following, the candy had its sights set on dramatically growing their fanbase.
We tapped into a key tension: in a world that often feels predictable and uninspired, consumers crave the unexpected. Especially when it comes to what they eat. In fact, 49% of global consumers look for “intense or bold flavors”. So we knew once these novelty-seeking consumers tried our product, they’d love it.
But since you can't literally taste a NERDS Gummy Clusters Super Bowl ad (and believe us, we tried), we brought the experience of eating one to life.
We tapped into the power of music and mouthwatering visuals — creating an immersive, multi-sensorial product demo that delivered the taste and texture of NERDS Gummy Clusters directly to viewers.
Every shape, color, texture and element of the ad was inspired by the candy and how it combines two great things to make one mind-blowing experience.
We enlisted Shaboozey, a genre-bending artist celebrated for his blend of Hip Hop and Country to reimagine the classic Jazz song, “What a Wonderful World” as a nod to Super Bowl LIX being played in New Orleans.
His fresh sound perfectly captured the essence of two different things coming together to create something amazing. The final sound design of his track included SFX from the actual product for an added layer of sonic texture.
In parallel, we brought our Gummy and Nerds to New Orleans, transforming the city's already vibrant energy into a Wonderful World of NERDS. We showcased Nerds and Gummy running, jumping, and dancing through the streets with a lively second line band, creating a delectable world entirely inspired by the product experience.
Our characters’ movements and SFX were designed to further evoke the expereince. The Nerds pitter-patter was high-pitched and crunchy to match their size and texture. Whereas Gummy had a low, bouncy sound and momentum that felt inherently “gummy.”
We launched with in-store and e-commerce activations that drove purchase intent at the point of sale. Our teaser content sparked buzz and entered the brand into the Super Bowl conversation ahead of the Big Game.
During the game, strategic last-mile delivery partnerships helped turn intent into action as our immersive TVC captivated an international audience.
Post-game, we extended our multi-sensorial storytelling across digital and social to turn scrolls from mundane to mouthwatering. Each consumer touchpoint was thoughtfully executed to build and sustain momentum as our creative stretched across paid, earned, owned and shared channels.
Within an hour of our ad airing, NERDS Gummy Clusters sales increased by a massive 223% on GoPuff.
