2019 Winner

Kraft Peanut Butter

100,000 Hugs for SickKids

Rethink

BronzePublic Service: Partnering

One in three Canadians spend the holidays apart. This stunning statistic led to the insight for Kraft Peanut Butter’s “100,000 Hugs for SickKids.”

Working with Rethink, the brand turned its beloved characters Crunchy and Smoothie into physical bears that connected loved ones across Canada. The WiFi-enabled bears could send hugs to each other anywhere in the world. When one is hugged, it activates the other by lighting up the bear’s bow-tie. The Bronze Partnering program began with a live stunt in Toronto and Vancouver, where the two 10-foot bears could be hugged in both cities. Regular-sized bears were also given to the crowd, one for a person to keep, the other to give to a loved one.

To really drive the idea home, it partnered with SickKids and put Canadians’ hugs (which were given on social channels via #KraftBearHugs) to good use. For every hug, $1 was donated to the hospital.

The goal was to collect 100,000 hugs. In under six hours, it had collected over 400,000. And thanks to a grassroots campaign by K-pop band, BTS, the campaign went global and the final hug count clocked in at over two million.

Credits
Client: KRAFT Peanut Butter
Date of First Appearance: May 17th, 2018
Creative Director: Mike Dubrick, Joel Holtby, Aaron Starkman, Chris Staples, Ian Grais
Art Director: Rebecca May, Jake Bundock, Laura Vardy
Writer: Gabrielle Elliot, Kyla Galloway, Geoff Baillie
Strategist: Sean McDonald, Julian Morgan
Broadcast Producer (in house): Laura Rioux
Strategic Planner: Julian Morgan, Sean McDonald
Account Services: Kai de Bruyn Kops, Jessica Lax, Lynn Summers, Seth Waterman
Production company: Heyd & Seek Inc
Director: Patrick Tomasso
Editors: Tom Mountain
Post Production House: Upstate
On-line: Upstate
Grading: Jay Smith
Audio House: Upstate