- Mars candy brand Starburst debuted “Different Every Time,” its first major campaign in 12 years, in line with details shared with Marketing Dive.
- Campaign spots utilize generative artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver content in quite a lot of scenes and styles. The effort includes greater than 300 bespoke assets and can span TV, online, social and other channels, including an augmented reality (AR) lens on Snapchat and a Spotify activation.
- Created by Team OMC, a collaboration between Omnicom agencies DDB and Critical Mass, “Different Every Time” looks to interact Gen Z consumers around novelty and discovery and demonstrates a method that marketers can use generative AI to create assets at scale.
Starburst is leaning into the greater than 479 million ways (12 factorial, for any math nerds within the audience) that consumers can enjoy one 12-pack of its candies for its first major campaign in over a decade. “Different Every Time” takes this insight literally, trying to deliver a seemingly countless array of content by utilizing generative AI.
“Inspired by the countless possibilities for adventure in every pack, this campaign celebrates the enjoyment of selection and individuality in a world inundated with sameness. With the assistance of generative AI, we’re bringing fans dynamic and ever-changing content, ensuring each experience is truly unique,” said Ro Cheng, vp of promoting at Mars, in an announcement.
In the spots, two characters start a unique scenario — doing homework, working, streaming or studying — in a unique setting, before one character eats a Starburst candy and the spot cycles through a number of vibrant, AI-created scenes in various styles that draw inspiration from fantasy, anime, futuristic landscapes, geometric shapes and more. Four versions will run across TV and full-episode players based on media caps, with different versions running across programmatic, Meta and Snapchat because the brand evaluates its entire paid media plan, per details shared with Marketing Dive.
The campaign is positioned as a balm for the “sameness fed to us by the algorithms and established order trends of today,” and appears to create the novelty and “constant discovery” that Gen Z looks for in content, explained Colin Selikow, chief creative officer at DDB Chicago, in an announcement.
Along with a whole lot of bespoke assets created for quite a lot of channels, Starburst will extend “Different Every Time” with a Snapchat AR lens inspired by the the candy’s flavor combos and a Spotify activation that launches on May 13 that is billed as a “‘chews’ your individual music adventure.” The Snapchat and Spotify elements put the campaign in front of younger consumers on the platforms that they favor.
Over the previous few years, Starburst has engaged younger consumers by activating around memes and viral content, specifically on TikTok. Previous efforts have revolved around viral self-love mantras and Gen Z interest in space. Most notably, Starburst found success in 2021 by tapping into interest around a Little Lad character that appeared in a 2007 ad for its Berries & Creme candies that had gone viral on TikTok.
Other Mars candy brands have been energetic marketers recently, with Skittles raffling off a rent-free New York City micro-apartment to advertise its Littles product and Snickers extending its long-running “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” brand platform across the stresses of flying.
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