People Sneak Cheeky Bites of Chocolate in Whittaker’s Latest ‘Hello Chocolate Lovers’ Installment

New Zealand chocolate brand Whittaker's has expanded its long-running ‘Hello Chocolate Lovers’ platform with two new films from Bastion Aotearoa that spotlight the small, chocolate-related temptations people face.

Rather than reinventing the platform, Bastion Aotearoa’s strategy director, Ryan Jordan, told LBB the latest campaign is “an evolution of the Hello Chocolate Lovers platform” rather than a departure from it. “Same central belief, different dimension of the truth.”

"The launch of the platform celebrated individual rituals, establishing that Whittaker's understands chocolate lovers,” he said.

“This new work explores what happens when those chocolate lovers interact with each other.”

Good Oil director Dave Wood told LBB while the campaign introduces a new dimension to the platform, it remains rooted in the “great history of Whittaker’s work that’s come before.”

“This campaign dove a little deeper into the desire for it, and the insights behind the grand ideal of sharing, alongside the selfish desire to keep some for yourself. It explored the relatable human conundrums around stealing a piece or finding an excuse to have one. The chocolate is still at the core of it all, but the amusing human behaviours behind sneaking a piece became a little more paramount in this iteration."

Dave said the settings and details “all flowed from the understanding” of the moments the films are based on.

"That’s the fun and beauty of a project like this. Stealing a piece of chocolate, or giving yourself an excuse to indulge, can be at once a moral dilemma and a spontaneous, frivolous choice. It all comes down to finding neat ways to tap into what everyone already knows or does.”

He added the production was a “a wonderful and all too rare 'trust the process' kind of job” defined by trust between the client, agency, and production team.

"The client had trust in the elegant simplicity of the writing and the human truths on the page. The agency had trust in me to deliver those in an amusing and entertaining way. I trusted our cinematographer, art director, editor, wardrobe and sound teams, and of course our actors' nuanced performances. We all had to trust in the simple fact that the chocolate tastes good enough to justify the motivational conundrums we were showing. The chocolate held up its part, and I like to think we all did too."

The ‘Hello Chocolate Lovers’ platform was originally launched in 2024. Maintaining consistency while introducing fresh stories has been central to the platform's longevity.

"Every campaign starts with the same enduring truth: Whittaker's deeply understands Chocolate Lovers,” Ryan said.

“That's the consistent strategic anchor. From there, each campaign uncovers a different expression of that love, whether it's around sharing, gifting, or individual enjoyment.

"The core insight stays constant, the rituals and behaviours explored are always fresh. That's what allows us to keep introducing new stories without losing what makes ‘Hello Chocolate Lovers’ recognisable and a connected brand platform that continues to build momentum."

Ahead of filming, Dave had the opportunity to spend time with the Whittaker's family in Wellington, an experience he said showed “the care behind the product” that “filtered all the way down to what we were doing: making the ads.”

"On that trip I met an old lady in the hotel one day. We were chatting in the lift and I explained what I was doing there, and she simply said, 'You better make the ads good. I love Whittaker’s.' I hope somewhere that lady from the lift thinks we did okay.”