Results and Effectiveness

The consumer offer was oversubscribed by 300%, not only did this encourage people to get active but also cemented Mars as a brand to be enjoyed as part of an active lifestyle. This translated into an outstanding sales uplift of 26% year on year, dominating the confectionary landscape. It is now officially the most successful Australian Mars bar promotion in history, and a permanent fixture within the Mars marketing calendar. But most importantly, we impacted the lives of thousands of Aussie families, breaking down barriers to getting active and putting 130,000 Mars branded balls into their hands for years to come

Creative Execution

The unique chance to see sporting superstars out of their depth and having fun produced great content. So good in fact, that major TV networks were happy to run the content in-programme, in prime time. A rare event for brand funded content in Australia. The Mars Play Challenges were integrated into prime time sport panel shows, and live sport telecasts across a 3 month period. We used Network Ten to distribute the content online, targeting catch up TV viewers. The short films also received earned media exposure, spreading organically into social media (youtube, facebook) and mobile environments. Rather than just inspire people to be more active, we then gave consumers the tools to get out there and try a new sport. We equiped Aussies with 130,000 Mars branded sports balls, which was leveraged in 12,000+ retail locations nationally via a combination of Mars packs and in-store displays.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

How can a chocolate bar inspire Australians towards a healthier lifestyle? Aussies had become increasingly inactive, according to a recent OECD report one in two are classed as overweight. MARS knew that people were WORKing, everyone was RESTing, but nobody was PLAYing. We uncovered a major barrier to adult sport participation; the fear of embarrassment. Unlike children, who fearlessly give new sporting challenges a go, adults are often too intimidated to try new sports, scared that lack of skill will embarrass them in front of their mates. Our approach was to make everyday Australians feel more confident about trying new sports. So we commissioned 10 short films featuring sporting superstars going head to head with everyday Aussies, in sports neither of them had played before. To ensure it was always fun, we used Australia’s most loved comedian to have a laugh with (and at) our sporting superstars.