Dive Brief:
- Mars Wrigley brand Starburst is once again tapping into meme culture with the unveiling of its first “unsharable,” per a press release. The push rides on the heels of a trending self-love mantra, “You are a pink Starburst.”
- The pack, accessible only by biometric fingerprint scan, is filled completely with pink, strawberry-flavored Starbursts and nods to a “me-first” mentality. Fans can enter to win the safe through Oct. 7 by visiting a landing page and sharing what they love about themselves.
- To promote the giveaway, Starburst partnered with influencer and self-care advocate Tefi Pessoa to showcase the all-pink unsharable packs. Starburst in the past has framed campaigns around brand-inspired memes and viral content.
Dive Insight:
Starburst’s wants consumers to embrace their inner “pink Starburst” in its latest campaign. The effort continues the brand’s playful tactics, namely the utilization of meme culture, while pushing for self-love. Key to the effort is Starburst’s all-pink safe, created in partnership with company Mycube and unlockable only by fingerprint, encouraging fans to keep their candies all for themselves. Amid a season riddled with economic stressors, such a self-care, “me-first” push may have increased odds of resonating with consumers.
"We created these 'un-share' packs intentionally to provoke child-like wonder, to help create a personal space for self-love, and to remind people that it is okay to put yourself first,” said Martin Terwilliger, marketing director of Mars Wrigley, in the release.
The exclusive safe also incorporates meme culture in an attempt to appeal to younger Gen Z consumers. The “You are a Pink Starburst” meme has been around for years, sparking numerous Pinterest posts and even products. An entry on the flavor in the Urban Dictionary says those that are referred to as a “pink Starburst” are “very special.” In 2018, Starburst unveiled a line of pink clothing to celebrate the return of the then-limited all-pink pack.
The pink Starburst has long been a fan-favorite flavor. Ranker.com has it listed as the most popular flavor as voted by users and even very polarizing figures such as former President Donald Trump seem to prefer it over other flavors. Starbursts has attempted to capitalize on the love for its pink candy in the past and unveiled its first commercially-available all-pink pack in 2017, which became a permanent offering in 2020.
More recent efforts by the brand to appeal to younger consumers through internet culture include capitalizing on the resurgence of a 14-year-old commercial through the ‘Berries and Cream’ TikTok sound, which quickly rose to the top of the app’s charts and even generated content from consumers who would have still been in diapers when the original commercial was released. In early September, the brand launched TikToks into space as part of an “Ask the Universe” campaign to play off Gen Z’s growing interest in space.
