Background

People rarely think about gum deliberately. It’s an impulse category, so naturally we live by being in the right place at the right time. You know, right there at the counter before you go to work, school or on that first date. Those times you may be getting a little close and personal.

So, when COVID arrived, it’s safe to say our consumers almost forgot us entirely. No school, no work, no dates and definitely no hugs or first kisses. Even shopping trips were fewer and conducted as quickly as possible. Sales declined on a global scale. 

To save the category, we needed to get gum back into the hearts and minds of people in a big way. We needed to bring back those emotional moments of human connection we used to help them with. We needed to remind them of all the places they once enjoyed us.

The Creative Idea 

While the pandemic was the source of our strife, we recognized it could also be the source of our comeback. In the not-too-distant future, people around the world will be re-entering society in a big way.

Enter our film for Extra, where we dramatized just how joyous our return to the world could be. How great it will feel to finally squeeze into a pair of jeans, freshen up with a stick of gum and take to the streets—awkwardly hugging, kissing and socializing until our collective hearts’ are content.

With one film, we managed to tap into a massive cultural moment that not only reminded millions of people why they need gum, but also made us the only gum they’re thinking about as they get back out there.

The Strategy

Our strategy was simple – we would use our greatest weakness as our greatest strength. 

If routines and habits had changed in response to the pandemic, surely they would change again as we came out the other side. With vaccine rollouts on the horizon and discussion of easing restrictions around the globe, we knew we’d only get one shot to make sure gum would be part of the zeitgeist as people began to define their new normal.  

Each market would be on their own timeline, so we knew we needed to be ready to launch in whichever market was ready first, with the others quick to follow. Our criteria for launch were dictated by the community’s anticipation of easing social restrictions and increased social mobility. For example, in the UK, this meant the opening of venues and increased gathering sizes and in the US, easing mask mandates and larger events. 

Describe the Execution  

The launch of our global film needed to feel as massive as the movement we were trying to tap into. We bought placement in key markets around the globe. Markets where vaccines were rolling out and where people were starting to see the light at the end of a very long tunnel, including the UK, US, France and Germany. 

Timing was also critical. Launch too soon and you risk alienating an audience still in the throes of the pandemic, but launch too late and we risk missing our window for relevancy. 

We ran our film across various digital and social channels to start and sent the long-form version of our film to numerous PR outlets. Within a week of launch, our film had gone viral and started to gain the buzz we were hoping it would. 

The Results

We set out to get people to care about us again, and to think about when they might use us once again.  

The world paid attention when we launched, resulting in: 

·       250MM impressions from earned media coverage 

·       Over 500MM campaign impressions 

·       95% positive sentiment for campaign mentions 

·       Over 6MM views on YouTube, our 2.5” film has retained an average view time of 1:52

Make people feel something? We hit a nerve, with the comments flooding in: “the ad we didn’t know we needed” or “made me cry and laugh at the same time”.  

Re-establish gum usage? Our viewers recited back to us their favorite gum moments, whether they be awaiting their stranger make out session or just dying to go back to the office.  

Gum is coming back.