A Poster 3 Times More Surprising – Mentos | Clapboard Ad Archive

Reflexos - eQlibri | Clapboard Ad Archive — archive collection thumbnail

Reflexos - eQlibri | Clapboard Ad Archive

eQlibri’s 2018 film campaign Reflexos, conceived by BETC for the Brazilian market, firmly plants the confectionery and snacks brand in the heart of a cultural conversation about women’s self-perception and freedom by rejecting product-centered storytelling and instead elevating the lived realities and inner dialogues of its audience. What makes Reflexos distinctive is its willingness to leverage literal and metaphorical reflections, focusing not on what women see in the mirror but on the complexities and depths that traditional advertising often overlooks, foregrounding themes of identity, empowerment, and liberation under the rallying cry of the hashtag SomosTodasLivres. The narrative is delivered with a restraint that is itself subversive for the sector: there is no exposition of product benefits, no celebrity endorsement, and no overt dramatization of consumer problems — instead, the film offers a tapestry of aspirational and relatable female profiles, asking its viewers to recognize themselves and their emotional truths in what Clapboard’s taxonomy would classify as FORMAT#10—Associated User Imagery. This creative approach is especially notable within the competitive snacks category, where campaigns frequently pivot on appetite appeal, lifestyle credentials, or light-hearted humor; here, eQlibri and BETC defy those conventions with a campaign that asks women to embrace their intrinsic worth and plurality, supported by emotionally charged cinematography and evocative storytelling that reinforce the message that nourishment—physical, emotional, and social—extends beyond the act of snacking. The campaign’s resonance is reflected in its considerable engagement, with viewership exceeding 1.1 million and meaningful dialogue generated across social platforms, indicating strong cultural relevance and emotional impact within its target audience. In choosing a format that invites identification and introspection, the campaign steps into the role of social advocate more than commercial promoter, aligning the eQlibri brand with progressive values and a forward-looking stance on gender narratives in Brazilian advertising. Clapboard rates this 74/100. Reflexos signals the enduring power of user-centered storytelling in categories long dominated by surface-level appeals, as deeper representation and authentic voice increasingly define brand leadership in the snacks industry.

The Anthon Berg Generous Upgrader - Anthon Berg | Clapboard Ad Archive — archive collection thumbnail

The Anthon Berg Generous Upgrader - Anthon Berg | Clapboard Ad Archive

The Anthon Berg Generous Upgrader campaign, conceived by Robert/Boisen & Like-minded for the Danish premium chocolate brand in Year, stands out as a sharp exercise in contextually relevant confectionery marketing that mines the widespread discomfort of suboptimal travel seating for both emotional insight and brand differentiation. Operating squarely in the food and snacks category, this ambient campaign turned a universal moment of mundane irritation — being trapped in a cramped or inconvenient travel seat — into an opportunity for an unexpected brand gesture: the more uncomfortable the passenger's seat, the more generous the upgrade of Anthon Berg chocolate offered. By physically embedding the brand’s core message of generosity at the exact intersection of consumer vulnerability and transient pain points, the campaign flips the traditional table on product sampling by making the act of “upgrading” experientially resonant and context-dependent. Rather than asking for attention, Anthon Berg delivers direct, tangible value — a moment of sweetness delivered when it’s most wanted, not when it’s least noticed. The creative concept decisively leverages what Clapboard's taxonomy would classify as FORMAT#2—Show the Problem, foregrounding an acutely relatable consumer issue and positioning the product-as-solution with no detours into constructed storytelling or artificial heroics. This approach sidesteps overwrought narrative, instead using the core mechanic as both message and delivery system: generosity as an act, experienced in real time, that rewires consumer memory of travel discomfort into a branded positive. While the campaign leans heavily into situational empathy, it does so with a degree of polish and wit that befits Anthon Berg’s premium status in the Danish market, converting an insight about small irritants into a memorable, distinctly ownable touchpoint for the brand. Agency Robert/Boisen & Like-minded demonstrates a clear understanding of both category conventions and psychological triggers, using the ambient environment to amplify the emotional payoff and engage audiences where the need is highest — at the precise threshold of inconvenience. The campaign earns 73/100 in Clapboard’s global creative archive. In showing that the best brand experiences are often those delivered precisely when the consumer needs them most, Generous Upgrader signals a durable shift toward tactical empathy and contextual relevance within confectionery marketing.

Tender messages - Milka | Clapboard Ad Archive — archive collection thumbnail

Tender messages - Milka | Clapboard Ad Archive

Milka's Tender messages campaign, crafted by Saatchi & Saatchi Ukraine for the 2015 launch, delivers a nuanced intervention into the confectionery and snacks category by harnessing ambient media to embed the brand's core value of tenderness into everyday spaces. Rooted in Milka’s longstanding positioning as the ambassador of gentle indulgence, this activation reframes the typical transactional chocolate advertising trope by deploying gentle, symbolic warnings or notes—subtly placed within public environments—to provoke everyday moments of warmth and reflection. Rather than presenting a conventional narrative or leveraging high-profile personalities, the creative approach aligns directly with Clapboard’s FORMAT#9—Symbolize the Benefit—using symbolic touchpoints and exaggerated messaging to dramatize the positive emotional impact Milka offers. These tender nodes become a form of branded vernacular, using the language of caution in a deliberately softened register to remind audiences of the transformative power inherent in small acts of care, much like the experience of sharing a piece of Milka chocolate. The campaign, communicated in Russian and tailored with cultural sensitivity to the Ukrainian market, invited passersby into an intimate, nonintrusive dialogue, rooting Milka as not just a confectionery treat but a catalyst for interpersonal kindness. Eschewing overt product display and hard-sell tactics in favor of emotional symbolism, Milka and Saatchi & Saatchi Ukraine succeeded in making the act of chocolate giving synonymous with softer communication styles—effectively turning ambient space into an extension of the brand’s tender identity. For a brand in a fiercely competitive FMCG segment, this effort subtly distinguishes Milka without resorting to formulaic category conventions or intrusive presence, deepening consumer engagement through thoughtful cultural integration. The single media asset at the heart of the campaign focused attention and invited organic discovery, reinforcing the message of quiet impact over wide-scale spectacle. Clapboard rates this 59/100. As brands navigate crowded sensory markets, Tender messages demonstrates how symbol-driven ambient strategies can reaffirm brand purpose and connect in more profound, personally resonant ways.

The Parking Assistant, The Bunnies Are Back - Mondeléz | Clapboard Ad Archive — archive collection thumbnail

The Parking Assistant, The Bunnies Are Back - Mondeléz | Clapboard Ad Archive

Mondelēz Norway’s 2013 JoyDay campaign, The Parking Assistant, The Bunnies Are Back, responded to Oslo’s notorious weekend parking crunch with a disarming activation that reframed urban frustration as a communal moment of delight. Created by Hyper for the confectionery and snacks giant, the campaign deployed four young men—branded as rescuing angels—who navigated a specially constructed mock car through Oslo’s packed streets, offering whimsical, in-person parking guidance to flustered Saturday drivers. By taking on the city’s parking jungle head-on, Mondelēz delivered a slice of tangible joy that clearly symbolized the brand’s core emotional benefit, translating confectionery’s promise of happiness into real-world uplift. The creative approach sits squarely in Clapboard’s FORMAT#9—Symbolize the Benefit, using exaggerated, performative stunts rather than direct product interaction to vividly dramatize the implicit joy associated with the category. Sharing videos of these candid, laughter-inducing interventions on joyday.no not only amplified the ambient stunt’s reach but also seeded the JoyDay platform for ongoing participation, inviting the public to submit ideas and become part of the joyful disruption in future years. The campaign embedded the Mondelēz brand further in Norwegian culture by transforming a familiar challenge into a shared, lighthearted spectacle, aligning snacking’s fleeting pleasure with a larger, community-driven sense of wellbeing—an insight especially resonant within a Scandinavian context where public happiness holds cultural cachet. With a Clapboard Campaign Score of 67/100, the work stands as a touchstone for how ambient, symbol-driven advertising can create meaningful engagement while reinforcing a brand’s emotional territory. This campaign matters because it disrupts the local marketing norm by using playful symbolism to invite genuine human connection, reminding creative teams that even small-scale brand actions can make a city—and a brand—smile.

Km 43 - Krispy Kernels | Clapboard Ad Archive — archive collection thumbnail

Km 43 - Krispy Kernels | Clapboard Ad Archive

Krispy Kernels’ Km 43 campaign, conceived by Lg2 for the Canadian market and launched in the Food category at the Magog Marathon in 2015, stands as a pointed demonstration of situational symbolism in ambient marketing. Recognizing the marathon setting as an emotional crucible for its health-conscious, active-lifestyle target, the campaign physically embedded the Krispy Kernels brand at kilometer 43—a grinding psychological barrier for runners that aligns with the moment many participants contend with energy depletion. By placing itself precisely where the need for a boost becomes visceral, Krispy Kernels positions its snack not simply as sustenance, but as a rallying point for renewal, stamina, and willpower, sidestepping testimonial conventions and direct problem-solution advertisements for a more pointed symbolization of benefit. This approach, sitting squarely in Clapboard’s FORMAT#9—Symbolize the Benefit—deploys an exaggerated visual marker to embed Krispy Kernels within the lived experience of its audience, reinforcing the idea that the brand is an active participant in their journey rather than a passive spectator. The use of English across branded assets ensured accessibility and coherence within the bilingual Canadian landscape, serving the dual objective of supporting marathon participants directly and building association for adjacent audiences invested in high-performance lifestyles. With a single ambient media activation, the campaign harnessed the marathon’s atmosphere to amplify recall and organically communicate energy-boosting credentials, meeting the rising consumer demand within the snacks sector for products that align with functional, healthy living. This focus on in-the-moment relevance over hard-sell tactics distills the emotional payoff of the brand proposition and modernizes the category’s traditional positioning strategies. The campaign earns 63/100 in Clapboard’s global creative archive. By framing the act of snacking as a reset moment at the hardest point in an endurance event, Km 43 demonstrates how deft placement and contextual messaging can transform product relevance and deepen brand–consumer connection in a crowded functional food landscape.

Campaign Proposition

The "A poster 3 times more surprising" campaign by Mentos, launched in Brazil in 2014, centers on the brand’s proposition of delivering unexpected delight through small, everyday moments. By positioning Mentos as a source of surprising enjoyment hidden within seemingly ordinary opportunities, the campaign reinforces the brand’s promise to transform routine experiences into moments of playful surprise and pleasure. Strategically, the campaign leverages ambient advertising to create a tangible, interactive narrative that resonates with consumers in a direct and engaging way. The creative angle focuses on the concept that significant surprises can emerge from minor, often overlooked chances—a notion that aligns well with Mentos’ image as a fun and spontaneous confectionery choice. Targeting a broad audience familiar with the brand’s youthful and lively personality, the initiative sought to deepen emotional engagement by visually and experientially emphasizing the thrill of unexpected delight. Through minimalistic yet impactful execution, the campaign intended to stimulate curiosity and reinforce brand recall without overwhelming the consumer. This approach reflects an insight into consumer behavior favoring authentic, experience-driven marketing in the confectionery sector, where sensory surprise and enjoyment are key drivers of choice. Overall, the campaign aims to solidify Mentos’ position as not just a candy but a catalyst for suspense and joyful moments embedded in daily life.

Creative Device

FORMAT#9 SYMBOLIZE THE BENEFIT — Uses symbols or exaggerated visuals to represent the product’s positive impact. This campaign, “A poster 3 times more surprising,” signals a creative device where the benefit—surprise, a key Mentos brand attribute—is embodied through an ambient installation (the poster itself) offering unexpected revelations. The copy “big surprises can be hidden in small opportunities” suggests the poster is more than it first appears, using the poster as a symbol for Mentos’ surprising character and thus visually exaggerating or symbolizing the delightful unpredictability the candy offers. There’s no strong problem-solution arc, explicit demo, or story resolution; instead, the narrative and medium are leveraged to symbolize Mentos’ benefit in a playful, experiential manner, making FORMAT#9 the best fit. ADVERTISING FORMATS EXPLAINED: https://www.clapboard.com/blog/branding-and-advertising/brand-strategy/12-advertising-creative-formats

Competitive Planks

Trident – Market Positioning Trident positions itself as a sugar-free chewing gum that promotes oral health and freshness. It targets health-conscious consumers seeking long-lasting flavor and benefits such as cavity prevention, differentiating through functional benefits combined with enjoyable taste.

Halls – Market Positioning Halls focuses on the throat-soothing and menthol freshness segment within confectionery, leveraging medicinal associations. It appeals to consumers looking for relief from cold symptoms while enjoying a refreshing, flavorful cough drop alternative.

Lacta – Market Positioning Lacta, a key player in the chocolate confectionery market, emphasizes indulgence, quality, and emotional connection through romantic and family-oriented campaigns. Their wide product range targets mass-market consumers seeking a pleasurable and comforting sweet experience.

Garoto – Market Positioning Garoto highlights Brazilian heritage and authentic, rich chocolate taste, focusing on emotional storytelling centered on family and tradition. The brand differentiates by emphasizing local roots and premium quality at accessible prices.

Trakinas – Market Positioning Trakinas targets the younger demographic with playful, colorful packaging and fun, intense flavors. Positioning itself as a joyful and energetic snack option, it emphasizes enjoyment and creativity, appealing especially to children and teens.