Sour Patch Kids Campaign at Albertsons Preps Gen Z for Work

Mondelez International’s Sour Patch Kids partnered with Albertsons Cos. in September for a campaign developed by WPP’s VML that was meant to help Gen Z navigate first jobs.

“As a new batch of Gen Z graduates flood the corporate world, their grasp of workplace speak isn’t quite as developed as their grasp of social communication,” Anne Martin, Mondelez International director, shopper marketing, told the Path to Purchase Institute. “Sour Patch is helping bridge this communication barrier using its "sour then sweet" mischievous nature to provide an interactive, fun experience to these candy-loving consumers.”

Consumers could visit SourTranslator.com to download an app they could use to receive a translation of office jargon, with “Looking forward to hearing from you” becoming “talk to me!” and “please don’t hesitate to contact me” translating to “please do.” The simplified message was accompanied by a $1 coupon that could be redeemed at Albertsons. 

The tool was promoted through retail media buys across Albertsons banners, influencer activity, social media posts and animated OOH placements. 

“Albertsons has been a strong partner of Mondelez for years and is always eager to partner with us on test-and-learns,” Martin said. “Introducing this idea and concept to our partners came about quite organically, and we’re grateful they too recognized the relatable insight of finding hidden meanings in day-to-day messages, and how that could translate (pun intended) into additional Sour Patch Kid purchases at Albertsons.”