We figured we had to scoop our CSR message into day-to-day life, with lots of humor and just a sprinkle of seriousness.

At the time, young Swedes were obsessed with YouTube goat editions (music videos with screaming goats). Could we use a similar idea, but with somewhat of a serious undertone too?

We found a perfect match between our crazy brand and a new YouTube network, Splay, that had the most popular and insane YouTube stars in Sweden, speaking directly to the desired audience.

To engage viewers, we commissioned eight Splay stars to create one-minute tribute films to the cows explaining the importance of keeping cows happy and urging viewers to sign the petition.

The YouTube stars used Instagram and Facebook to drive audiences to their films.

Splay became the perfect banana to our Ben & Jerry split!

Ben & Jerry’s got people involved!

Viewing (700,000 in a 1.7 million target group), likes and comments excelled and we surpassed the petition goal by 58%, reaching 14,622 signatures.

42,000 signatures were collected through our campaign and Ben & Jerry stands, making the Swedish petition most signed in Europe per capita.

Submitted to Brussels, the petition hopefully results in happier cows and even greater ice cream.

The cherry on top? A 7% sales growth and a 14% penetration increase in 2013 plus the values “worth paying more for” and “socially/environmentally responsible” scoring 55% and 175% better than the closest competitor.