MUMBAI: Cadbury 5 Star has ended its long-running campaign against Valentine’s Day with a playful reversal, announcing it would sponsor one million dates, before revealing the promise as a deliberate bluff rooted in its signature “Do nothing” philosophy.
The chocolate brand, known for poking fun at Valentine’s Day hype, unveiled the campaign through teaser and reveal films released on its YouTube channel. Conceived by Ogilvy India, the campaign initially claimed the brand would restore the occasion by funding research-backed Valentine’s Day itineraries inspired by the festival’s origins.
The reveal, however, delivered a twist: the so-called historical research suggested the purest way to honour the day of love was to spend it doing absolutely nothing, bringing the narrative back to Cadbury 5 Star’s irreverent brand positioning.
Mondelez India vice president – marketing Nitin Saini, said the campaign was designed to surprise audiences while reinforcing the brand’s relaxed, anti-hype stance on Valentine’s Day.
Ogilvy India chief creative officer Sukesh Kumar Nayak, said the idea took the brand in an unexpected direction by pretending to embrace romance before subverting it with humour.
The campaign is supported by a digital platform developed by Ogilvy’s creative tech team, where couples can sign up for the fictional sponsored dates.
Wavemaker, which handled media strategy, introduced Esther Howland, often associated with the early commercialisation of Valentine’s cards, as a tongue-in-cheek cultural disruptor, aimed at encouraging Gen Z consumers to opt out of performative romance.
Cadbury 5 Star is part of Mondelez India Foods, which has operated in the country for over 75 years and owns brands including Cadbury Dairy Milk, Silk, Perk, Fuse, Gems, Bournvita, Oreo and Tang.
