Energy BBDO, Extra Gum Give ‘A Second Chance’

Energy BBDO launched a new ad for Wrigley’s Extra Gum featuring a real-life couple.

The lengthy online spot picks up where past tearjerkers like “Origami” and “Sarah & Juan” left off, mining similar emotional territory, incorporating Extra gum wrappers into the payoff and even using the same song, “Can’t Help Falling in Love” as the latter. “A Second Chance” follows the story of Marcus and Jessica, who met in kindergarten and always seemed to find a way back into each others lives.

Now Jessica is a widow and Marcus a single dad and even though Jessica “didn’t think love could be possible…again” she finds herself romantically involved with Marcus after all these years. With help from the kids, and Extra gum wrappers, he has a big surprise planned for Jessica (you probably know where this is going) with a Brady Bunch-esque ending in mind. While the emotional approach worked well with the memorable “Origami,” it brings diminishing returns with each rehash and this latest effort can’t help but fall a bit flat, real couple and all.

There’s something a bit unsettling about that aspect, which gives the spot what AdFreak refers to as “a reality-show vibe.” Wouldn’t this couple’s story (and emotional moment) have meant more if it were not caught on camera (for a gum commercial, no less)? 

“We set out to find couples to talk to us about love under the guise of shooting a travel documentary,” Energy BBDO executive creative director Andrés Ordóñez explained to AdFreak. “Once we found couples that felt right for the brand, we approached the guy separately about their relationship trajectory.”