The campaign is for everyone who is tired of the mush around V-Day can actively contribute to pruning it.
Mumbai: With a fresh new take, Cadbury 5star continues it’s annual tradition of rescuing people who want to “do nothing” on Valentine’s Day.
For several years now, Cadbury 5star with the tagline of “Eat 5 Star, Do Nothing” has been showing support to people who dread Valentine’s Day and would much rather spend it ‘doing nothing’. After devising a time-travel hack in 2024 to help people skip the entire day in minutes, the brand is back with an audacious plan to make this the last Valentine’s Day ever with the most unexpected secret weapon: Uncles.
Conceived by Ogilvy, the campaign’s launch film introduces a data scientist who explains that several youth trends in the recent past have ended in a similar fashion – when older audiences adopt them. From skinny jeans to youth slang and social media platforms losing their cool factor, the pattern is clear—once the older crowd joins in, the youth move on.
Extending this pattern, Cadbury 5 Star proposes that if uncles take over Valentine’s Day, the youth will quickly lose interest in participating in it, and the rituals around V-Day may vanish in no time. To test this theory, this year, the brand will spend its entire Valentine’s Week marketing budget on uncles – by paying older couples to go on dates and take over Valentine’s Day. The brand will also promote mushy Valentine’s Day videos made by older couples on social media platforms, so that uncles are everywhere this V-day – online and offline.
Speaking on the campaign, Nitin Saini, Vice President Marketing- Mondelez India said, “At Cadbury 5 Star, we’ve always championed the virtue of doing nothing. Valentine’s Day often comes with a lot of pressure of putting on a romantic show, but it is certainly not for everyone. We wanted to take a light-hearted & fun approach to disrupt Valentine’s Day—by enlisting the help of uncles, who are often the last people associated with romance. It is a fun way to demonstrate the lengths to which we at 5star will go to by battling anything that gets in the way of Doing Nothing.”
Sukesh Nayak, Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy India added,”5 Star’s counterculture take on the cringe around Valentine’s Day has been gaining popularity year on year, so it was a no-brainer that we’d come back with something even bigger. While last year we explored technological interventions like time travel, this time Karunasagar Sridharan (ECD Ogilvy) came up with a completely different yet simple and relatable solution. And our Creative Tech team, helped build the platform to interview and recruit ‘uncles’ who can take this mission forward while rewarding the youth, so that everyone who is tired of the mush around V-Day can actively contribute to pruning it.”
Shekhar Banerjee, Chief Client Officer & Office Head – Wavemaker India mentioned,“Cadbury 5 Star known for its counterculture play, is turning Valentine’s Day into ‘Destroy V-Day’ this year, with a cheeky, disruptive message. Our multi-platform strategy targets a digitally native audience through engaging content on Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat, while extending reach through strategic TV placements for broader reach. The campaign is amplified through strategic partnerships across cinema, retail, and sports, ensuring maximum impact and resonance. Supported by a unique KOL strategy that mirrors the playful, counter-culture spirit of our brand. In a sea of predictable Valentine’s Day messaging, Cadbury 5 Star is poised to disrupt the norm and own the conversation.”
To test this theory, this year, the brand will spend its entire Valentine’s Week marketing budget on uncles – by paying older couples to go on dates and take over Valentine’s Day. The brand will also promote mushy Valentine’s Day videos made by older couples on social media platforms, so that uncles are everywhere this V-day – online and offline. Audiences who are sick of Valentine’s Day can ‘recruit’ uncles they know by visiting www.destroyvalentinesday.com. Not only will the uncles receive a ‘date allowance’ from the brand, even the person nominating the uncle will receive a ‘commission’.
To join Cadbury 5 Star’s mission, consumers who are tired of Valentine’s Day can nominate uncles they know by visiting www.destroyvalentinesday.com. Not only will they receive a “date allowance” from Cadbury 5 Star, but the person who nominates them will also earn a “commission.”
Watch the launch film here:
Link to download film: 5 Star – Valentine’s Day 2025 – 90s – 16×9.mp4
CREDIT LIST
OGILVY MUMBAI – Cadbury 5 Star – Destroy Valentine’s Day
CCOs India: Sukesh Nayak, Kainaz Karmakar, Harshad Rajadhyaksha
EXECUTIVE CHAIRPERSON: Hephzibah Pathak
CEO: VR Rajesh
PRESIDENT AND HEAD OF MUMBAI AND KOLKATA OFFICE: Hirol Gandhi
CCO MUMBAI: Anuraag Agnihotri
CSO / DCSO: Ganapathy Balagopalan
CREATIVE TEAM: Karunasagar Sridharan, Jugal Joseph, Nishigandh Dhende, Himanshu Sonparote, Darshan Dhonde
ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT TEAM: Beenu Kurup, Priya Thakkar, Patrick Britto, Bindu Singh, Isha Savla, Vanishree Iyer
BRAND STRATEGY TEAM: Russell John, Shiksha Singh, Aayushi Jadli
CREATIVE TECH TEAM: Rajneesh Bolia, Vaishali Mange, Dishant Malik, Manisha Kumari
CLIENT TEAM: Cadbury 5 Star – Nitin Saini, Siddharth Singh, Syed Rizvi, Yash Desai, Arpita Kalubarme, Anjali Madan, Satnam Ajmani, Vednarayan Sirdeshpande, Thomas Oomen, Aishwarya Jain, Priya Dixit, Rakhee Bansal, Aishwarya Chopra
DIRECTOR: Nitin Menon
PRODUCTION HOUSE: Retro Films
MEDIA TEAM: Wavemaker India
TECH PARTNER: Oobedu
