Godiva has engaged actor Chris Evans as the voice of a new campaign aimed at making the high-end chocolate brand's decadent sweets more approachable and accessible—or as Godiva’s CEO Nurtac Afridi put it, to “democratize the luxury” long associated with the brand.

A comprehensive ad effort including connected TV and online video ads, outdoor, retail point-of-sale materials, paid social and programmatic breaks globally today and tells consumers that “Godiva Is Chocolate,” and needn’t be reserved for special occasions. The campaign represents a major step in an ongoing strategy at the company to radically change how Godiva presents itself to consumers—and the consumers it presents itself to—aiming for a younger audience that can now buy its chocolate in Walmart and 7-Eleven, where they once were limited to high-end boutiques in shopping malls, and eating them anytime, as opposed to reserving them for special occasions and holidays.

The changes at the 96-year-old Belgian chocolate brand have been underway since Afridi was named global CEO in December 2020. They have included the abrupt closure of all 128 Godiva boutiques and cafes in North America last year while introducing new versions of its chocolates packaged and priced for mainstream distribution, and products that expand the brand to categories like ice cream. Known as “The Gold Plan,” the strategy has already resulted in rapid new growth for Godiva, said Afridi, who views advertising as a key to taking that momentum even further.

“Why do we lock ourselves into certain gifting occasions only? Why don’t we make Godiva more accessible and more available, and make ourselves more approachable?” Afridi said of the strategy. “It’s not as formal as it looks. It’s not difficult to enjoy yourself, or to impress others, with a box of Godiva chocolates.

“And it’s chocolate,” she emphasized. “You should eat it. You should eat the best chocolate, and enjoy it. That’s the message. And that’s why we feel this campaign is very important to us.”

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The new ads, created by the brand and its creative agency TracyLocke, feature young consumers in everyday situations, showing that treating themselves to Godiva is permissible. In one, titled “Gold,” a woman awaiting a lunch date with a friend intending to give her a gold box of Godiva chocolates as a birthday gift digs into the box herself while waiting. Thinking quickly, she gives her friend a book she was reading as a gift instead when she arrives.

Others show a young mom treating herself to a Godiva chocolate bar in her bedroom closet to take a break from an off-camera noisy family; a man winning acclaim from friends for bringing Godiva’s Chocolate Domes bites to a potluck dessert gathering; and friends sharing Godiva’s chocolate Masterpieces assortments during an at-home movie night.

Each of the ads, directed by Lena Beug, is narrated by Evans and ends as he describes each situation to accompany the new “Godiva Is Chocolate,” slogan. “Godiva is buy it as a gift, or keep it for yourself chocolate,” Evans relates in the “Gold” ad. “Godiva is chocolate.”

Afridi lauded TracyLocke’s approach to storytelling in the ads for placing consumers—not the brand—as determinants of the situations for which Godiva is appropriate. “It’s a two-way communication,” she explained. “We are telling them Godiva is chocolate, and they are telling us for which moment, or which occasion, it’s the chocolate for them; they will fill in the line that is suitable. That’s how we make our brand and our products closer to consumers.”

The choice of Evans as Godiva’s brand voice came through brainstorming between the company and the agency, Afridi added. The star of Marvel’s Captain America and Avengers films brings authority and charisma to the brand—while representing an atypical male voice in the luxury-chocolate ad field. “We had different options, but when we saw Chris for just a few seconds, I said ‘That’s it. Chris it is,’” Afridi recalled. “His approachability and his confidence very well complements our brand’s personality. He’s a hero—and Godiva is a hero of the celebration, of the happy moments in people’s lives.”

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Premium heritage

Godiva was founded in Brussels in 1926 by chocolatier Joseph Draps and has been recognized for premium positioning throughout its history. The brand was acquired by Campbell Soup Co. in 1967 and sold for $850 million in 2007 to Yildiz Holding, a Turkish company and parent of that country’s largest food group.

Prior to taking over as CEO of Godiva, Afridi held numerous positions within Yildiz’s portfolio companies and led the acquisition of the brand from Campbell. Her prescription to make Godiva a more youthful and accessible brand through mainstream channels represented something of a contrast from her predecessor, Annie Young-Scrivner, a former Starbucks executive who envisioned the brand growing appeal behind a series of cafes—as many as 2,000 by 2025, according to reports. Young-Scrivner today is CEO of Wella, the hair products company.

Afridi said expanding Godiva's reach should not indicate that is also abandoning its high-end heritage. Its premium gifting platform remains a foundation of the brand—although translating that to a wider audience presented some challenges, she confessed. For one, Godiva’s appeal was greatest among customers ages 40 or older, and tended to concentrate around special occasions like Christmas. For another, Godiva’s reputation was almost too upscale for the mainstream.

Among young people, Godiva “was perceived as something that is so valuable, so precious, that maybe I shouldn’t eat it,” Afridi said.

“That’s why we’re now saying, ‘It’s chocolate. You deserve to eat it.’ We’re saying that it’s for you; that it’s approachable, it’s vibrant, it’s joyful. It’s for you to be happy,” she added.

So while Godiva’s “Gold Box” luxury gifts maintain price points of $200 and up, smaller retail packages inspired by what’s inside those boxes now sell for as little as $2, bringing the luxury brand into more direct competition with other premium chocolate brands at retail like the Swiss chocolatier Lindt, which also owns the Ghirardelli brand; Cadbury (controlled in the U.S. by Hershey Co.); and emerging players like Mast Brothers and Tony’s Chocolonley.

Gifting has also expanded to mainstream retail channels where packages like Chocolate Domes bags can help consumers recognize informal gift occasions like a birthday or a thank-you. “You don’t have to wait for Christmas to gift Godiva anymore,” Afridi said.

“The premium quality, the Belgian heritage and innovation is our core, and has been a part of Godiva for almost 100 years while other confectioners in this space have come and gone,” Afridi said. “It’s what makes Godiva different than any chocolate brand in the world. That is protected by our chocolate team, by our quality team, and by our marketing team. What we are doing with our new omnichannel strategy and bringing Godiva to every day is democratizing that luxury.”

Doubling marketing spend

Afridi did not specify what Godiva was spending on the new campaign but said the company was doubling its marketing budget this year. The “Godiva Is Chocolate” campaign is breaking globally across the U.S., Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and China and includes the brand’s debut on TikTok as it prioritizes social growth.

Plans for out-of-home ads in the U.S. include a digital billboard in New York’s Times Square starting today; with additional static billboards, wallscapes and urban panels planned in New York, Miami, Orlando and Tampa, Florida.

U.S. consumers in 2021 re-engaged with confectionary after a tumultuous 2020 impacted by the onset of the coronavirus which separated consumers from their families and the events that traditionally drove purchases, said John Downs, president and CEO of National Confectioners Association, an industry trade group, writing in the organization’s 2021 state of the industry report.

According to the NCA, chocolate dollar sales rose 9.2% to $16.7 billion in the U.S. last year on unit and volume increases that accompanied an industrywide move to expand candy sales from the “big four” holidays—Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween and the winter holidays—to more everyday occasions.

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According to Godiva, the premium chocolate category in which it competes grew by 17% compared to 10% for all chocolate, and Godiva’s entry into CPG grew its share disproportionately, accounting for a third of its 2021 revenue as consumption increased by 32% on the year.

Godiva’s presence online has significantly grown over the latest 52 weeks, the brand said, citing IRI e-commerce figures. Online market share of premium chocolate, Godiva noted, is almost three times that of traditional brick-and-mortar retail.