New product announcements are traditionally fraught with risk that ranges from the “ho hum” reaction of no one noticing to the fearful response of “you better not change my favorite.” Making the announcement on the Super Bowl includes the added pressure of ensuring the ad breaks through a very cluttered environment, one that usually includes celebrity filled ads. The brief was not only to ensure the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup product news was noticed, but that the ad was compelling enough to drive trial purchases of the new Reese’s Caramel Big Cup as they were just appearing on shelves in the days leading up to the Super Bowl.

This :30 film was based on the idea of bringing a group together to watch the big game and then making a series of announcements about Reese’s launching a new Peanut Butter Cup. The construct we used was to share what seems like bad news (No!) followed by shockingly good news (Yes!) and choreograph the party goers reactions. The chaotic energy and excitement grew with every No!/Yes! segment so the spot was packed with so much action that viewers were compelled to go online and view the ad again (and again.) We rewarded each additional viewing with something surprising and fun that was missed in previous viewings. The No!/Yes! segments were separated by shots of peanut butter, chocolate, and golden caramel along with the new packaging to ensure the product was integral to the ad.

The ad recently aired on the Super Bowl, so we are waiting on sales results. Based on post-game analysis, the spot earned the #5 best ad of the game by Ad Age, the #2 Most Effective ad of the game by Kantar, and garnered a top “A” rating from The Kellogg School Super Bowl Advertising Review. Those results coupled with over 7 billion media impressions have us anticipating strong sales numbers of the new Reese’s Caramel Big Cup.