Hershey’s today launched the brand’s first major creative effort in eight years, per details shared with Marketing Dive. The “It’s Your Happy Place” platform is launching ahead of the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Milano Cortina and will span creative, social and digital executions. To support what the marketer describes as an effort to reinvigorate its flagship brand, parent Hershey Company is increasing the brand’s marketing budget by 20%, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The platform focuses on establishing happiness as Hershey’s core mission. The “Happiness Is The Real Gold” campaign, the first element under the broader platform, consists of ads and content featuring Olympic and Paralympic athletes, including Brenna Huckaby, Erin Jackson, Hilary Knight, Jason Brown and Jordan Stolz, sharing anecdotes about their pursuits of gold — and happiness — before being surprised by family members, who also share their stories about what they wished for the Olympic athletes in their lives.
“Happiness is in the moments and experiences we share, not just the milestones we reach,” said Stacy Taffet, chief growth officer at The Hershey Company. “Hershey’s is fueling the brand’s momentum through what matters most: bringing people little prized moments of their own gold.”
To that end, Hershey’s will release limited-edition chocolate medals wrapped in gold foil as part of the campaign. The brand will dole out the medals for “everyday moments of real gold” throughout the Olympics to both athletes and fans. The first 400 guests at Hershey’s Chocolate World on Feb. 7 will receive the medals, with a limited-time drop on Feb. 13 via The Hershey’s Store and TikTok Shop.
The effort seeks to reinvigorate the company’s flagship brand by celebrating happiness as a journey, not just a destination, explained Vinny Rinaldi, vice president of media and marketing technology at The Hershey Company.
“It's a lot more than just a campaign,” Rinaldi said. “It's literally taking a brand and showing up in a completely different way, starting with the Olympics… What better way to create this moment around being happy, but in a culturally relevant time period where you've got the entire world coming together on the biggest stage?”
Hershey’s has been a Team USA sponsor since 2015 and has previously engaged consumers around the Olympics. But while “It’s Your Happy Place” kicks off at the Olympics, the platform will continue throughout a year that also includes cultural moments around America’s 250th anniversary and the World Cup.
“[This platform launch is] such an opportunity to go back to our roots, to go back to our brand, to bring together moments, all back into one ecosystem,” Rinaldi said.
At the Olympics and beyond
After kicking off during the opening ceremonies, Hershey’s will show up throughout the three weeks of games in linear and digital channels, including organic content shared by athletes and plans in place to pop-up in real time. It focuses on digital‑first, video‑led storytelling, including via immersive formats like Snap AR Lenses and TikTok Branded Effects.
“When you look at this activation ecosystem, it goes so much beyond what we're launching in the opening ceremonies and our partnership with NBC, and it truly brings the platform, Team USA and five incredible athlete stories to life across all these different social touch points,” Rinaldi said.
Hershey’s partnered with The Martin Agency to relaunch the brand, from creative strategy to execution, and the effort utilizes MiltonOne, the bespoke Publicis Groupe solution for the company that is powered by MSL for earned PR and Digitas for integrated media.
“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,” said Jerry Hoak, chief creative officer at The Martin Agency, in a statement.
The Hershey Company in its most recent earnings results surpassed expectations, raising its full year outlook for net sales. The company will release its fourth-quarter results on Feb. 5. The new effort seeks to engage with U.S. consumers who remain under economic pressure in a world that is challenging and fast-changing, Rinaldi said.
“We want to be a part of that [world], but just the comfort part of it, and the helping part of it, where you bring people together,” the executive said. “You allow people to show their true selves through the comfort of our products.”
