• by Fern Siegel , 4 hours ago

Hershey’s was founded in 1894 — and has been a chocolate favorite for 132 years.

The company, which relied on in-store displays for decades, shifted to media ads in 1970 to confront competition. Brand campaigns have been intermittent — “Hershey. It’s Your Happy Place” — is the first since 2018.

The new work launches with five U.S. Winter Olympic and Paralympic athletes and their families ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympic (Feb. 6) and Paralympic Games (March 6). The athletes are Brenna Huckaby, parasnowboarding, Erin Jackson, speedskaking, Hilary Knight, ice hockey, Jason Brown, figure skating, and Jordan Stolz, speedskating.

Two spots are here and here.

IPG's The Martin Agency is producing creative throughout the year, with various social and digital executions. The spots position Hershey's as a familiar source of happiness. MiltonONE is a dedicated team formed by Publicis Groupe specifically to handle U.S. media for The Hershey Company. Digitas, part of that team, handles integrated media.

"It’s actually a pretty bold statement to say you exist as a brand to make people happy, and it’s refreshing to help make work that’s able to follow through. Also, I definitely didn’t cry on set. My eyes just got really watery for some reason,"  Patrick Wells, associate creative director, The Martin Agency, told Agency Daily.

Jerry Hoak, Chief Creative Officer at The Martin Agency, added: "The Opening Ceremony of the Olympics is the perfect place to launch a new brand platform for one of America’s most storied brands. We’ve spent decades telling athletes that gold is everything. Win gold. Happiness follows. But this first brand work proves that it goes way deeper than that. It’s the journey, the memories and the people who got you there that represent your true Happy Place."

In addition to ads, limited-edition Hershey’s chocolate medals, crafted with embossed designs and wrapped in gold foil, will drop on Feb. 13 at The Hershey's Store and TikTok Shop.

Hershey's has a sizable candy line, including Reese's, Kisses, KitKat, Jolly Rancher and Twizzlers, which propel more than $11.2 billion in annual revs, per the company.