Mars Wrigley refreshes gum brands with quirky 'Chew good' platform

Mars is refreshing its chewing gum and mint brands, supported by a TV, digital and out-home-home campaign.

It is spending £39.2 million ($50 million) on the push, which is designed to help its brands appeal to a younger demographic and make a name for itself in the “holistic wellness” space.

The “Mind mouth” campaign has been created by Omnicom and Energy BBDO and includes five films. The films were directed by Nick Ball through MJZ. Remy James was senior art director and Bethany Berg senior copywriter. Media was handled by EssenceMediacom.

The first of these is a 20-second ad for Extra gum, which shows an office worker in a meeting, who gets distracted by a voice that is coming from a pair of lips on his forehead.

The film will be accompanied by streaming radio assets, an augmented-reality lens for Snapshat, and an array of social content deployed across Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.

The visuals were shot by photographer Hanina and are designed to “differentiate” the campaign from previous work by using a disruptive, poppy and quirky aesthetic that Mars has dubbed “Chewtopia”.

Mars added that the brand refresh is the “most significant change to its chewing gum brands in 100 years”.

Mars launched its first global campaign for Extra chewing gum, “Find your fresh look” in 2022, which was also designed to target under-25s, and included partnerships with clothing brands I Saw It First and BadHero. 

Mars has also introduced a new tagline, “Chew good”, to reposition its Orbit, Extra, Freedent and Yida brands as "essential everyday products" rather than an occasional item, while attracting consumers under 25.

The brand revamp will be rolled out across the UK, Poland, Spain and Canada before being introduced across the rest of Europe, Australia, America and the Middle East later in the year.

Mars said the campaign represents “unconventional me moments” for people “living in an increasingly chaotic world” and strives to capture the “coveted under-25s demographic that is the most likely to chew of any age group”.

Alyona Fedorchenko, vice-president of global gum and mints, Mars Snacking, said: “Chew good—two words that remind us that no matter where you are, or what you’re doing, there’s a simple way to take a bite sized me-moment with Orbit, Extra, Freedent and Yida gum.

"We are completely unapologetic in trying to support that endeavour; it’s what consumers are telling us they want from our brand, and it’s what we intend to deliver, one chew at a time, with the launch of this exciting new platform.”