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Caramel Seatbelts

Milky Way Chocolate Wants You To Stretch Their Candy Bars

— March 19, 2009 — Marketing
These ads for Milky Way chocolate bars are part of the “Caramel Stretch Campaign.” Caramel seatbelts and movie theater line barriers combined with caramel colored strips really do give the illusion that they're stretching.

The ads were created by advertising agency BBDO New York, USA with creative direction by Scott Kaplan and Tom Kraemer. The copy was written by Tom Kraemer and Scott Kaplan.

Implications - Advertising no longer pertains to the product specifically, but the lifestyle that the product represents. Consumers are more likely to purchase a product based on a brand rather than the product quality. As such, corporations looking to realistically compete with rivals need to first develop a strong corporate identity that consumers want to identify with even before releasing a high-quality product.
Trend Themes
1. Brand Identity Over Product Quality - As advertising becomes more about a brand's lifestyle than its individual products, companies need to prioritize developing a strong corporate identity to compete in the market.
2. Illusion-based Advertising - The Caramel Stretch Campaign shows the potential of using illusions in advertising to grab consumers' attention and make products more memorable.
3. Creative Ad Design Elements - Combining unexpected design elements in advertisements, like the caramel seatbelts and movie theater line barriers, can set a brand apart and create a more memorable campaign.
Industry Implications
1. Consumer Goods - Consumer goods companies can benefit from prioritizing brand identity and using creative design elements in campaigns to make their products stand out.
2. Marketing and Advertising - Agencies specializing in marketing and advertising can pursue creative design and illusion-based campaigns to differentiate themselves and help their clients get noticed.
3. Entertainment - The Caramel Stretch Campaign's use of cinema-related design elements shows the potential for entertainment companies to incorporate unique advertising tactics in their promotions.
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