Cadbury's branded content series tries to reconnect parents with their distant teens

A new branded content series from Cadbury, promoting its Heroes boxed chocolate brand, focuses on the sometimes difficult relationships between parents and their teenagers.

"Familes Reunited" sees parents trying to reconnect with distant kids by embracing the things they they're into. For example, episode one, "Biker Dad," focuses on the story of a dad who hasn’t been on a bicycle in 15 years learning to "bike storm" like his son. In a forthcoming episode, "Skater Mum," a truck-driving mum learns to figure skate just like her eldest son. The tagline for the series is "the little things that bring us together."

The films are running on YouTube, social media and digital OOH. The series was inspired by research conducted by Cadbury Heroes that shows that over half of parents feel disconnected with their children as they reach teenage years. They were created by Cadbury's agency VCCP and were directed by David Symmons, who has worked as as a director on Channel 4's BAFTA-winning reality series First Dates, via Curate Films.

“As our kids grow up, family time gets pressured with the busyness of life and teenagers becoming more independent," said Chris Birch and Jonny Parker, creative directors at VCCP in a statement. "We wanted to bring this wonderful human story to life on a bigger canvas: the sadness over a broken bond, the lengths our parents go to in order to bond with their kids, and the surprise and excitement of the kids when they realize how much their mum or dad cares. Our show, Families Reunited, sees parents train up in their kids’ interest to reconnect with them. And that’s what Cadbury Heroes are, the little chocolates that can bring the family together."