New Web and Print Ads for a Cherished Scandinavian Candy

Swedish Fish enthusiasts, as Cadbury refers to them, create manuals on how to care for their favorite candy. They compose songs, develop recipes, and produce artwork. A search for Swedish Fish returned 257 results on Facebook and 13,500 results on MySpace.

“There are multiple communities on Facebook and MySpace,” said Tracy Benitz, brand manager for Swedish Fish at Cadbury. She added the candies have, “experienced tremendous growth in the online world.

Cadbury and JWT took inspiration from these devoted individuals to craft the messaging for “A friend you can eat,” the first ad campaign to come out for the candy brand in some time.

The ad campaign includes print and video units, which will run on sites including Yahoo, IndieClick sites, and MySpace. Online creative is based on the print ads, which were inspired by these online communities.

Among its images are cuddly animals including a kitten between two pieces of bread, a teddy bear grilling on a Panini press, and a chick in an ice cream cone. These are subtitled with the word “Naj” (“no” in Swedish) and paired with photos of a single Swedish Fish (titled “Ja”). The tagline: “A Friend You Can Eat.”

Digital video ads use similar imagery to convey the message.

Online ads will launch in October and run into 2009. The campaign was introduced to lovers of Swedish Fish at Dylan’s Candy Bar in New York, where Swedish Fish-inspired beverages and sushi were served.

Cadbury will likely allow online communities to grow on their own and not build its own Swedish Fish community and expect fans to join and participate. “They have great communities going. We don’t want to spoil that, but in the future there might be things to interact with consumers,” Benitz said.

Cadbury is celebrating 50 years since the U.S. adoption of the salty gummy candy in the U.S.

Mediaedge handled the buying for the campaign.