It's hard to think of iconic holiday commercials without mentioning Hershey's Kisses. Many of us have grown up with the ad, which shows 11 chocolates "ringing" to the tune of "We Wish You A Merry Christmas," and we can practically name the order in which each Kiss moves.
What most people don't know, though, is the story behind how that commercial came to life—and its impact to this day.
It's Hershey's Longest-Running Product Commercial. Ever.
The promo has aired every holiday season since its debut in 1989, meaning that anyone under 29 years old has never known a world without it.
It's Entirely Unaltered, Too.
That's right—this flawless piece of old-school holiday #content has remained exactly the same since its inception.
An Employee Went Rogue to Make This Commercial.
John Dunn, Hershey's brands manager at the time, headed to San Francisco to create a series of Kisses commercials, all focusing on the idea of "whimsy." He was working with advertising firm Ogilvy & Mather and Colossal Pictures, a production company, to create the ads, and when he realized they were working ahead of schedule, asked two members of the team to come up with a holiday commercial.
Dunn wasn't authorized to make a holiday commercial, but he did so anyway, according to Hershey's archives; He was that confident he could sell his boss on the idea.
Delish: Eat Like Every Day’s the Weekend
The Last Second Is Crucial.
At the very end of the commercial, the Kiss on the far right starts ringing frantically, and when the conductor (who happens to be the trunk of the Hershey's Kisses Christmas tree) finally motions for the Kiss to stop, the frenzied chocolate "wipes its brow" using its ribbon as if it were an arm. This sign of relief helps ring home the innocence and whimsy of the Hershey's Kisses brand, Hershey's reports, making it a critical scene in the ad.
It's A Case Study in Timelessness.
Since the commercial runs for such a short time frame—just a few months out of the year—and it uses a classic Christmas carol, people haven't gotten as fatigued of the ad over the years as they have many others. Plus, since the product itself hasn't changed, the Kisses "don't wear out like normal commercials," former marketing director for chocolate confectionary products at Hershey Leah Longan told the New York Times in 1994.
With each passing year, the ad triggers feelings of nostalgia—you can remember when you first saw it, and associate memories of holidays past, making it a tradition in itself.
What may be most impressive, though, is how in just 16 seconds' time, Hershey's somehow gets you into the holiday spirit (and makes you think about grabbing a bag of chocolate Kisses) without saying a single word out loud. The song plays throughout the commercial, with just the line "Happy Holidays from Hershey's Kisses" appearing beneath the chocolates at the very end.
