Cookies and demogorgons and augmented reality, oh my!
Chips Ahoy recently partnered with Netflix’s Stranger Things for a limited-edition cookie collab that will be seen far beyond the grocery store shelf. The special chocolate- and strawberry-flavored cookie, inspired by the show’s red-and-black Upside Down underworld aesthetic, became available for purchase in stores nationwide on August 11, and on the same day, Chips Ahoy promoted the collaboration via another one—an AR-based game powered by and promoted on Snapchat.
The whole move, according to Michele Nevitt, Snap’s head of CPG, sales and client partnerships, was tailor-made to target Gen Z, and it marked just the latest example of brands branching into games to cut through the noise and give audiences a way to immerse themselves in brand storytelling.
“It was all about building a gamified experience, something that’s new and unique, that can excite consumers,” Nevitt said, later adding that “This experience specifically is optimized for sharing, peer-to-peer engagement, tapping into the way Gen Z connects, competes, and discovers through storytelling.”
Ready player one
To access the game, which will be available through the end of the year, customers can scan a QR code on Chips Ahoy packaging leading to chipsahoyscan.com, where players are prompted to enter their emails before searching for the limited-edition cookies in an AR-powered set of scenes inspired by the show. After every level of the game, players are entered into a sweepstakes to win special Chips Ahoy x Stranger Things merchandise, which includes everything from a branded lunchbox- and water-bottle set to an Eddie Munson-inspired electric guitar.
To take advantage of Snap’s software development kit that makes the AR motion detection possible, the game must be played on mobile. To encourage that mobile play, Snapchat is hosting an AR lens promoting the collaboration and directing users to play the game.
“For us, it’s a great way to be able to connect with consumers in a different way,” Nevitt said. “Our consumers want something more than traditional advertising, something that they can immerse themselves within the unit.”
Snap reaches over 75% of Gen Z in more than 25 countries, according to Nevitt, and Chips Ahoy was focused on engaging those younger customers with this campaign following other activations that sought to do the same, including a Big Chewy Cookie partnership with ComplexCon and Big Sean that involved a merch collaboration and an 18-foot cookie installation at the pop culture festival.
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“Chips Ahoy over-indexes among Gen Z, and our ambition is to be the go-to chocolate chip sweet treat for Gen Z households,” Sabrina Sierant, senior director at US Chips Ahoy, told us in an email. “Snapchat is incredibly popular with Gen Z and one of their most-used social media apps, so it was a no-brainer to leverage the platform to bring this idea to life.”
This was the first time Chips Ahoy has delved into a gamified ad experience, according to Siernat, but interactive, gameplay-focused campaigns are only growing in popularity. Netflix recently partnered with Spotify for a golf game ad promoting the film Happy Gilmore 2, joining brands like Duracell, Heineken, and M&M’s, which have all gone gamer mode in recent years. Campaigns that take advantage of gamification can see a 48% increase in engagement levels and up to 22% more customer retention, according to research from creative agency Rhapsody.
“It continues to be a trend that Gen Z and millennials are continuing to use, so it’s been something that has been part of our creative toolkit,” Nevitt said. “It will certainly continue to be something that we’re going to partner with clients to build.”
End of an era
On the IP side of things, Chips Ahoy partnered with Stranger Things to “be at the forefront of culture and drive brand relevance and excitement with our Gen Z target,” Sierant said.
The final installment of Netflix’s beloved franchise, which last released a season in 2022, will be released in three parts, the first of which is scheduled to be released in November, and Sierat said the cookie collab is one way she’s hoping fans can engage with the show early while waiting to see how the Hawkins gang’s story will conclude.
Chips Ahoy isn’t the only brand getting in on the Stranger Things hype early, either. The WNBA’s Indiana Fever, Dungeons & Dragons, Lego, and Palermo’s Pizza have all flexed connections to the show’s lore since late July, and there are plenty of months to go for more brands to take a trip to the Upside Down.