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Chocolate lovers in China share the same passion for indulgence as people around the world, and Mars has long held the market with its Dove chocolate brand. Since its entry into the Chinese market in 1990, Dove has dominated, with 68% of surveyed consumers purchasing it in the past three months and holding a 24% share of the $3.5 billion chocolate market.
But in recent years, Dove has faced increasing competition from brands like Hershey’s and Ferrero, and China’s slowing economic growth added to the challenge. In response, Mars needed more than a standard advertising approach to reignite interest in the brand—they needed innovation.
This is where BBDO China stepped in, ready to revamp Dove’s advertising with a fresh and bold approach. Knowing that change can be risky, BBDO was determined to lower that risk and ensure success. Their secret weapon? Immersion's Value Measurement platform, a cutting-edge neuroscience technology that measures real-time emotional engagement, helping brands create ads that resonate deeply with their audience.
BBDO has a long-standing relationship with Immersion, having trusted the predictive power our neurologic measure of value for years. This time, they utilized the platform to de-risk their creative process, ensuring that their new Dove campaign would strike a deeply emotional chord with viewers.
The concept for Dove’s new campaign was simple but powerful: a short break with Dove chocolate as a mini-vacation from the stresses of the day. BBDO China developed several scenarios featuring this concept, and with the rising popularity of ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) content, they integrated sensory elements to engage viewers on a deeper level.
Using Immersion’s platform, BBDO tested rough cuts of each idea with their target audience. They tracked viewers' emotional responses and iteratively refined the commercials based on the data. This measure-edit-measure cycle helped them hone in on the most immersive ads, choosing two versions that scored highest on Immersion's scale.
But BBDO didn’t stop there. They even brought in a musician to tailor the perfect soundtrack for the commercials, measuring the emotional impact of different musical scores using Immersion’s platform. The result was a finely-tuned, sensory-driven campaign that delivered far more than just visuals and sound—it delivered a meaningful emotional experience.
And the results were nothing short of exceptional. Dove’s new “working occasion” campaign transformed the brand’s messaging, showing how a quick Dove chocolate break could turn a stressful day from "blah" to "ah." Performance metrics showed a significant market response, outperforming previous ads and reigniting consumer interest in the brand.
By combining art and science, BBDO China created their "Oddly Pleasurable" ad -- creative that wasn’t just visually appealing—it resonated on a deep emotional level, making it a standout and delivering business success in an increasingly competitive market. The process of using real-time neuroscience to guide creative decisions ensured that this high-risk creative idea resulted in a high-return campaign.
If you’re curious to see how it all came together, BBDO China even created a behind-the-scenes video, offering a closer look at the process of creating this immersive experience.
Immersion recently released our new SIX app, which makes it even easier for creatives and brands to tap into the emotional power of their content on the go! Start measuring within minutes and get a free Value Score for any piece of content, so you can transform your approach to advertising, just like it did for BBDO and Dove.
The partnership between BBDO China and Immersion shows how powerful it can be when neuroscience and creativity are combined, allowing brands to create content that not only engages but also deeply resonates with audiences.