In the absence of a Super Bowl presence in 2018, we set out to drive talk value and advance the brand story of “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” in a less traditional way. With an ambition of being the world’s most talked-about brand, our goal was to drive earned reach and cultural relevance through surprising fans in the places and ways we showed up.

We created the world’s worst offer—an e-Coupon for one Snickers bar for the price of two (double the price of a regular Snickers bar)

Of course, some people took the bait.

But we didn’t take advantage of those who clicked. Instead, we sat them down for a gentle, heart-to-heart talk with a life coach who expresses his concern for their well-being.

He ultimately gives them a better, instantly redeemable deal on SNICKERS to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

As a brand grounded in the “everyman archetype” we used an NFL-focused buy and showed up with our less-than-ideal offer display media on fantasy football websites where users often spend lots of time researching drafts and trades for week-to-week gameplay. Not only would we garner more impressions from our target audience, we would also be more likely to find “hungry” consumers who were off their game.

The execution was designed to go beyond the initial banner and surprise the audience with a larger experience.

It started with a terrible offer – one Snickers bar for the price of two, which is of course, double the price of a regular SNICKERS bar.

But of course, plenty of people took the bait.

Those that did got a video where a sensitive life coach expresses concern for their well being; relates to the mistake, explaining that hunger affects everyone; and gives them a better offer for Snickers, so that they can get back in touch with who they really are. At this point we see a super: “YOU’RE CONFUSED WHEN YOU’RE HUNGRY.”

He ultimately gives them a better, instantly redeemable deal on SNICKERS to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

SNICKERS core message is that hunger has consequences. The nearly 35,000 people who clicked through on our deceptive one-for-two offer experienced that firsthand, with each person spending an average of :33 seconds with our life coach, and learning a funny and valuable lesson along the way – the internet is no place to be when you’re hungry.