Trapa Chocolates was an old-fashioned Spanish brand, with a bad perception, and so stuck in the past that their buyers were getting older (+65 women). It was being removed from supermarkets after competing without success against multinational companies (Ferrero, Nestlé…).

Trapa was so damaged that it was recently sold to a new owner. So to relaunch the brand, we settled a new brand purpose, and it was decided:

- to renew the whole production chain in order to be more sustainable

- to remove palm oil from all their products

So the objective of this project was:

- To relaunch the brand, communicating the removal of palm oil.

- Reach younger audiences (specially “consciuous women” 25-45).

- To stop being taken out of supermarkets.

How did a Spanish chocolate company’s piece of content save a part of a rainforest in Borneo?

We travelled to Borneo to photograph a rainforest that was scheduled to be deforested in a matter of weeks. And we launched a documentary to warn that, in the event of that location being deforested, we would come back to take another photo exactly the same spot to show the consequences of palm oil production.

In the same region, we interviewed the International Animal Rescue Chairman (the NGO had recently recorded a viral video of an orangutan fighting against a bulldozer) to let him put the palm oil problem in context.

We hired a well known Spanish fashion photographer and a Russian model to make the authorities believe it was a harmless fashion shoot and not a critical documentary.

Once we launched the documentary, the immediate palm oil lobby’s reactions made the rest.

Trapa challenged the status quo in the chocolates and snacks category with a critical attitude, far from the multinational companies’ way to communicate.

Brands like Ferrero were (very negatively) mentioned every time media talked about our “crusade against deforestation and the palm oil lobby”.

Breaking the conventions of the category (pleasure/flavor) this attitude was embraced by the Spanish consumers as a “David against Golliat” adventure story, in which David/Trapa is not just “letting us have a conscious choice” but also “fighting and taking risks for us”.

This creative strategy allowed us to reach a younger audience (specially, “conscious women” 25-45), raising awareness about deforestation amongst them with 3 different approaches:

1- Key opinion media (Highly respected press journalists from ElPais, ABC, ElMundo …) amplified our warning, and the different controversy moments it provoked, sparking organic debates.

2- Fashion & Lifestyle magazines.

3.- Online Entertainment (documentary) attracted audience from media coverage.

Promotion: 3 trailers started 10 days before the launch, alongside the photo, published in national magazines.

November 2018. The documentary was online.

In less than 1 week, the palm oil lobby, led by powerful chocolate multinationals, threatened us privately asking the withdrawal of the documentary. 7 weeks later, they sued us. We didn’t withdraw it, and we made the sue public, attracting new audiences to the documentary.

March 2019. The Government of Indonesia denied our visa to return to Borneo. We had no choice but to hire a satellite that revealed a ridiculous truth: they had deforested all, except the piece of land where we had taken the photograph, in order to avoid a second photo with a deforested background.

21 March (International Forests Day). We published the update, including the satellite image, and how palm oil lobby reactions led into that point, reaching new audiences and sparking the debate.

How did a Spanish Chocolate ad save a piece of rainforest in Borneo?

The palm oil lobby, led by chocolate makers, sued us asking for the withdrawal of the campaign. We didn’t do it, and leaked it, sparking a huge debate about the ingredient.

But, when we wanted to return to Borneo (2019), the Government of Indonesia denied our visa. We had no choice but to hire a satellite that revealed a ridiculous truth: they had deforested everything, except the piece of land where we had taken the photograph, to avoid at all costs that the second photo with a deforested background was produced. We publish the satellite image generating again a huge echo.

+ 73% "palm oil" searches

+ 47% "Trapa" searches

+ New demand for distribution in supermarkets (Carrefour, Auchan, etc).

+ 51% sales

Proving that a good purpose can make both, the business and the Earth, win.