candy chicken sandy
THE SITUATION
winning the chicken sandwich wars
Summer is peak season for non-chocolate candy, but low brand loyalty makes it tough to stay top-of-mind. With no major news or product launch, Airheads needed a creative way to break through.
THE IMPACT
The campaign drove a 50% surge in search volume for Airheads, secured 208 earned placements, and generated over 478 million impressions with zero paid support. Delivering $5 million in earned media value and achieving the #1 SEO ranking for “chicken sandwich” during the campaign window, it captured national coverage from Fast Company, Yahoo!, Food & Wine, AdAge, and The Takeout. What started as a fun idea became a headline-grabbing cultural moment.
THE SOLUTION
In partnership with Highdive, Spool was brought in early to infuse earned strategy into the creative process. What could have been a clever ad concept with industry appeal became a true cultural moment.
We tapped into the fast-food “chicken sandwich wars” and launched the Airheads Candy Sandy, a fried chicken sandwich on a bun made entirely of Airheads Xtremes Belts. Spool helped shape the campaign for earned success, building media angles, driving influencer engagement, and activating a real-world sampling moment on National Fried Chicken Day in Chicago.
50% surge in search volume for airheads
#1 seo ranking for “chicken sandwich” during campaign window
$5 million in earned media value, with zero paid support