We turned the smallest, most disposable part of our product – the wrapper – into a new medium that allowed the brand to connect with consumers, and people to connect with each other.

It started online, with a love story that gave new meaning to our wrappers. Set to a custom rendition of the classic love song “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” "The Story of Sarah and Juan" showed that even the most meaningful connections in life can come from something as small as sharing a piece of gum.

Then we actively engaged consumers on social media, turning their Instagram and Twitter photos into beautiful, hand-drawn works of wrapper art. The wrappers were displayed in an interactive gallery at GiveExtraGetExtra.com, and people proudly shared them across their social networks.

We responded in real time to moments of connection as they trended on social media, commemorating them on our wrappers. And on Valentine’s Day, we used our wrappers to help a real couple get engaged, and documented their amazing journey in a branded content piece.

The campaign generated more than 1.3 billion impressions.

"The Story of Sarah and Juan" received more than 110 million views, 40 million of which came in the first 48 hours. It was shared 1.4 million times, became a trending topic, made headlines around the world, got spoofed a few times, and was named one of the top 5 iconic ads of the year by YouTube.

Our version of “Can’t Help Falling in Love” climbed Spotify’s viral charts, reaching #1 on the Global and U.S. charts. It was a top 20 track on iTunes and has sold over 175,000 singles on iTunes. It garnered national radio play, was performed live on American Idol, and has become a wedding favorite around the world.

Over a thousand unique pieces of wrapper art were created and shared back with consumers.

After the campaign, launched Extra was the top-selling gum brand for 25 weeks straight.

"The Give Extra, get extra campaign" secured a place in pop culture for Extra gum through powerful storytelling, captivating use of music, a social activation that gave new meaning to the product, and branded content that brought the brand platform to life in the real world.

Rather than follow category convention, playing to people’s heads with functional product messaging, we sought out to win over people’s hearts with powerful storytelling that would infuse the brand with new meaning.

Simply put, we wanted people to fall in love with Extra gum.

Extra gum had become one of the biggest brands in the category, dominating store checkout lanes with a myriad of flavors. But despite its size, the brand lacked a clear meaning and sales were declining.