Parents believe parenting would be harder without today’s technology, but they are nostalgic for a less complicated world for their kids to grow up in. As they recalled childhood memories before social media existed and digital was so prolific, they got to talking about their parents, grandparents, uncles, and aunts. Anyone from older generations learning technology? Hilarious.

We realized this topic of technology ineptitude of older generations is a source of comedy gold, evoking a smile and belly laugh. A few years ago it was a sore spot for embarrassing parental encounters. Now as parents themselves, Millennials embrace it. Now they WANT their parents to learn new technology, like Facetime; it’s how they keep their own children connected to them as grandparents.

This inspired us to imagine how Ernie would join today’s conversation: Ernie Keebler, the not-so-tech-savvy elfin baker, would join social media to share his love for cookies.

Ernie was a little inept with social media and hadn’t quite gotten the hang of it, but he was always trying new things and taking cues from his fans. Sometimes, technology got the best of him, like when he confused edible cookies with an internet browser web cookie or thought he permanently swapped faces with the center of a Fudge Stripes cookie. He also learned memes, .gifs, and videos. Despite occasional flubs, Ernie always kept a positive attitude, especially when responding in real time to events and fans’ comments.

We helped him learn to use cultural moments to connect by publishing content in native environments and in dynamic, realtime banners. We developed nuanced audience targeting for each social channel and used Kellogg’s first party data to conquest new buyers and expand Keebler Cookies’ consumer base. We even extended Ernie’s technology adventures into traditional media with print.

Ernie may be an elf, but he made a GIANT impact.

After years of shrinking sales, Keebler Cookies started chipping away at the competition. Within just a few weeks after the campaign launched, Keebler Cookies saw some of its highest weekly consumption rates ever, especially strong base sales performance and increased category share. By the end of the campaign, sales were up 16%.

The campaign earned over 400 million total impressions and social conversation skyrocketed with average monthly brand chatter up 328%. Positive sentiment on social media towards the brand more than doubled and even the press had some very nice things to say, like LA Magazine’s article headlined, "This Twitter Account is the Last Thing Pure and Good on the Internet.” Well shucks!