Some woman in a cubicle office opens an Almond Joy, and a bunch of palm trees spring up in that part of the building. Then they cut back to show her lounging in a hammock, eating the candy bar. This idea of having a break that “takes you away” at work has been done several times, but rarely as well as this, at least in my opinion. The fact that cocoanuts are what’s in Almond Joy and Mounds makes it plenty appropriate to use the tropical setting, and whenever anyone thinks of an escape from work, who doesn’t think tropical paradises first? I always have since childhood, and that’s probably why this ad works so well for me. It’s a state of mind, produced by the candy bar, so it’s appropriate to have the digital effects. (So often the CGI effects feel like they’re there just for flash, but are completely unrelated to the product. It’s nice to see that they don’t stand out as inappropriate for a change.)
I will never forget the “Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t!” ads, though. They are so memorable, and that’s one of the most important things about an ad campaign. Years after this campaign, and even if I had never seen it since childhood, I always would have remembered it. In fact, it almost never happens that I see or eat an Almond Joy or Mounds where someone doesn’t see it and say: “Hey! Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t!” And when you get that kind of enthusiastic response about an ad campaign, rather than intense loathing and annoyance, you’re really onto something! Maybe it’s just the nostalgia for our youth, remembered through advertising. But there are only certain campaigns we’re nostalgic about. The annoying ones we sometimes love to hate, but usually we just hate them or forget them. But that old Almond Joy/Mounds campaign: pretty memorable! They even did them where they would say: “Sometimes you feel like a (picture of an Almond Joy), sometimes you (picture of a Mounds).” When you can do that, and everybody knows exactly what you mean, and they replace the missing words, you’ve drilled it into everybody’s psyches forever!
But I really like this new ad too. It shows you why you might want one for a break at work. And really, for an adult, what other time do you even want one? I rarely ever think about candy anymore. It’s really only at Halloween that I ever think of candy these days. That’s why I think an adult in a Halloween costume eating a candy bar might be the most evocative for adults. You could have an adult walk into their office or a convenience store in a scary costume, scaring everyone out of the building. Then, they pick up a candy bar, pull off their mask, and eat it. Then the ad says: “It doesn’t have to be Halloween to enjoy (whatever candy bar) like you did as a child! Pick one up anytime, and bring back your childhood!” In fact, the whole idea of bringing back your childhood would be perfect for selling candy bars to adults! What adult doesn’t pine for their youth? And what brings back childhood feelings more than eating a candy bar? Seriously: I think that’s the best possible way to sell them to adults!
(BTW: There is a crab walking across the washing machines behind the girl as she eats the candy bar. Are they using this to imply this girl has crabs? Because that's rude! Or maybe they're using this as a way to make people think you could catch crabs at a public laundromat? How slanderous! Actually, I'm kidding, but I think they could have selected a better beach animal than a crab, as it suggests this sort of interpretation, and that simply distracts from the message about the candy bar, and it cheapens it, too. I know my mind is in the gutter, but so are a lot of other ones. This commercial is aimed at young adults, and as such, it will invite this reading of the crab, so it was not an auspicious choice, however well-intentioned it might have been. How about a sea gull or a sandpiper instead?)
(BTW: There is a crab walking across the washing machines behind the girl as she eats the candy bar. Are they using this to imply this girl has crabs? Because that's rude! Or maybe they're using this as a way to make people think you could catch crabs at a public laundromat? How slanderous! Actually, I'm kidding, but I think they could have selected a better beach animal than a crab, as it suggests this sort of interpretation, and that simply distracts from the message about the candy bar, and it cheapens it, too. I know my mind is in the gutter, but so are a lot of other ones. This commercial is aimed at young adults, and as such, it will invite this reading of the crab, so it was not an auspicious choice, however well-intentioned it might have been. How about a sea gull or a sandpiper instead?)
Here’s an example of an ad from this “unwrap paradise” campaign:
