BRACH’S Unwraps the Secret of Missing Candy Canes

Candy canes serve double duty during the holidays - as decorations and the occasional treat. But while most candy canes are for show, BRACH’S brand outperforms the entire category in flavour, aroma, and texture… making them impossible to resist.

BRACH’S Candy Canes are the only decorations that are snatched, stolen, eaten and otherwise too good to last, deserving of the new tagline: 'Decorations You Can’t Not Eat.' In a new campaign from Rethink, BRACH’S is reframing how people think about its classic holiday staple. They aren’t just pretty display pieces; they’re decorations that you'll want to enjoy.

“Everyone loves the look of candy canes on the tree, but BRACH’S are so good they never make it to Christmas morning,” said Matt Escalante, VP of BRACH’S and seasonal. “Rethink helped us tap into those familiar, funny moments every family has experienced: when the Brach’s candy canes keep disappearing from the tree, and no one wants to admit who did it. For us, that’s the joy of the season, the little, mischievous moments that bring people together.”

The centrepiece of the campaign is a humorous :30 film, (and a shorter :15 version) that shows the lengths a Dad and his kids will go to sneak the candy canes off the tree. The national campaign will run across social, OTT, and OLV. In addition to Rethink, H5 handled PR and iProspect handled media.

Rethink and BRACH’S also developed 'The Cane Opener,' to solve the most common candy cane conundrum: they’re as delicious as they are tricky to open. The device is specifically engineered to open candy canes, delivering a fast and mess-free unwrap with a simple cutting mechanism. Starting November 17th, fans can visit TheCaneOpener.com to purchase their own.

“At Rethink, we are always searching for truths and we thought we had something cool when we realised that candy canes are the one decoration that you can also digest. Can’t eat Christmas Lights. That’d be a disaster,” said Tara Lawall, CCO of Rethink NY. “Another truth about Candy Canes? They are hard to open. So we invented The Cane Opener, a real product that opens a candy cane with ease.”

'Decorations You Can’t Not Eat' builds on Rethink’s continued partnership with BRACH’S to modernise and re-energise classic seasonal candy icons. It follows the success of its recent Candy Corn campaign that positioned the iconic treat as the unofficial ambassador of fall. Rethink is partnering with BRACH’S, including its Sweet Bright Conversation Hearts line, over the next year.