In order to connect with a Gen Z audience, we needed to refresh the long running “Unexplainably Juicy” Starburst campaign. After years of communicating that Starburst candy is Unexplainably Juicy, we realized that no one on Earth knows what makes them so juicy. So, we decided to ask the universe in case anyone out there has the answer for us. Not only did we run spots showing the question being beamed into space, and the potential answers we might get from alien worlds, we also create a hashtag challenge on TikTok encouraging people to ask the question in their own unique way that they thought aliens might understand, and we actually beamed their TikToks into space for the first time ever.

We see two astronomers on Earth at a satellite station. One eats a Starburst candy and wonders aloud what makes Starburst taste so juicy. The other astronomer says she doesn’t know, but points out that he’s beamed the question into space. We cut to a faraway planet where the message has been received. We see a teenage slacker alien lounging on the couch when his mother tells him, “Kyle, feed your Earthlings.” Without moving, his toe extends across the room and presses a button labeled, “Juice” which releases a large juice droplet in a fish tank nearby. Inside the fish tank is the Milky Way galaxy, and the Earth. The large juice droplet hits Earth and we hear people cheer in celebration. Then we see and hear the end line, “Starburst. Unexplainably Juicy.”

The spot resonated with Gen Z as part of an integrated campaign that led to engagement and thousands of user generated videos being beamed into space. We’re still awaiting a response from an alien world.