Starburst jumps into generative AI with ‘Different Every Time’ brand campaign

Mars is fully embracing generative AI in a brand campaign for Starburst in which the endless visual outputs of artificial intelligence mirrors the “joy of endless possibility” offered by the product itself. A series of spots focuses on a woman and man who sample different combinations of the product (the brand says there are more than 479 million ways to enjoy one pack of 12 original Starburst) and are transported to surreal AI-generated worlds. The tagline is “Different every time.” See four examples of the new spots above and below. These four spots will air on TV, with some 300 more assets running online—across programmatic, Meta and Snapchat. Production company Tool worked on the campaign, with Bobby Louise & Brig handling the live action and Ezra Paulekas as the AI creative director. Additionally, there are extensions on Snapchat and Spotify. Snapchat users can play around with a different-every-time AR lens inspired by Starburst flavor combos. Spotify users can engage with a “chews” your own music adventure experience, launching May 13, that will surface new music based on their flavor-inspired choices. Ro Cheng, VP of marketing at Mars, said the campaign “celebrates the joy of choice and individuality in a world inundated with sameness” with “dynamic and ever-changing content, ensuring each experience is truly unique.” Colin Selikow, chief creative officer at DDB Chicago, added that the work creates “the novelty and constant discovery that Gen Z is looking for. It creates that perfect sweet spot where the campaign experience perfectly matches the product experience.” There is a decent conceptual tie-in to the product here, though the AI scenes still feel flat—they have that AI sheen to them that typically lacks emotion and can make viewers tune out. Candy in general will be an interesting category in which to see generative AI play out, given it’s long been home to surreal creative that might seem easily replicated by AI. But it might not be quite that easy to replace the human touch on this kind of work. Compare the new spots, for example, to Starburst’s “Unexplainably Juicy” campaign from two years ago, which featured delightfully weird ads from director Bine Bach (Ad Age’s Director to Watch at this year’s Creativity Awards). More Creativity coverage from Ad Age: Sign up for our daily Creativity newsletter to see the best stories of the day.

Starburst jumps into generative AI with ‘Different Every Time’ brand campaign

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