Our story starts when Goldfish crackers came to us with a simple question—how can we reinvigorate the brand for the kids of today?

Their once peaceful corner of children’s snacks had been invaded by the biggest, baddest brands in the game. Doritos. Cheez-Its. Cheetos. These snacks dominated the aisle with first-to-category innovations, endless flavor varieties, and a ruthless promotion strategy.

Before long, Goldfish found itself overshadowed and underappreciated. Penetration fell and frequency dropped to just 2.8x purchases a year1 as kids moved on to flashier options. By 2009 Goldfish barely cracked the top 50 brands kids love (#49).

And so our goal clarified: get kids to ask for Goldfish crackers more often & fall back in love with the Goldfish brand along the way.

The original ask was for a TV spot that would get kids 6-12 to remember their former favorite snack.

But as any parent will tell you, it’s hard to keep a kid’s attention. What they like today, they leave behind tomorrow. Or in the next hour. So capturing their attention in a standard commercial would be tough.

Plus in the 2000s, kids’ worlds were exploding way beyond television to include YouTube, Wii, and the very beginnings of social media. That meant we had to find ways to be part of their lives everywhere they go and across every touchpoint, not just when parked in front of the TV.

That gave us a crazy idea: what if we made Goldfish into an entertainment property in its own right? More than a cracker, more than “just another snack,” but a source of genuine inspiration and entertainment for kids anytime, anywhere.

Enter “The Adventures of Finn & Friends,” a complete world of entertainment for kids to immerse themselves in.

Transforming our TV buy into an animated series, we created evolving storylines and introduced a growing cast of characters for kids to cheer, boo, and fall in love with.

But like any good entertainment property, we weren’t content with just a show. We created a journey across physical and virtual touchpoints that includes games, mobile apps, and real-world experiences that work together to spark kids’ imaginations. This has shown the world a whole new dimension of a smiley little cracker—and built an unbreakable bond with kids everywhere.

Now in its 11th season, “Finn & Friends” have been featured on Disney, Nickelodeon, and Cartoon Network. We’ve floated in The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. And we’ve stolen the show during the Kids’ Choice Awards.

An impressive resume for any performer, but a pretty bonkers one for a cracker.

Once barely cracking the top 50 brands, “Finn & Friends” has made Goldfish the #10 brand kids love.

The platform has transformed the Goldfish business beyond a snack brand into a bona fide entertainer. An entertainer that engages kids throughout their journey of growing up with pinball games, parades, and—yes—even TV ads.

All this fun has really paid off: Goldfish are now the most requested snack brand among kids age 6-12. And the #1 Kids’ cracker.

What’s really awesome, though, is that we did all of this not by copying our flashier competition—but by letting kids everywhere tell their own stories with Goldfish crackers.