Up until November of 2020, Hershey had been playing the same Christmas ad every year since 1989. The ad has been an iconic staple point for Hershey during the holiday season, many felt joy and took comfort in seeing it annually. If you are unfamiliar with the ad, you can search it up on youtube, but I will give a brief description here. The commercial features Hershey kisses arranged in a near diamond shape bouncing or dancing to the instrumental version of the song “We Wish you a Merry Christmas.” The new commercial starts exactly the same but then quickly features a father and daughter interrupting the jingle and dance to grab a Hershey kiss and place it in the center of a cookie. The commercial ends with the two sharing a batch of cookies and smiling, followed by Hershey’s usual message at the end of their Christmas ads “heartwarming the holidays.”

After the new ad was released, Hershey received an incredible amount of backlash. They were surely not expecting that much hate towards their new ad. There was so much talk about their ad that they formally addressed the topic in a statement saying that they would still air the old commercial along with the new one. It seems that the goal of the new commercial is to give encouragement to use Hershey Kisses in new ways. The commercial shows the sweet treat being used in a baking expedition and creating really good looking desserts. The theming is very similar as the same song is used and the same slogan at the end. The commercials are both around the same duration as well. The new commercial tries to take on a more modern approach and catch the attention of viewers by being more innovative. While it seems like a valiant effort, the people have spoken that this ad is in fact too different from the original.

Comments on Hershey’s youtube post are abundant and overwhelmingly negative. You could scroll as much as you want but you will not be able to avoid the negative nancys. People love tradition, people get set in their ways and become very used to the same things over and over again. People also love nostalgia, so it makes sense that if a particular ad has been playing for 31 years there is going to be some uproar. Nostalgia is especially important during the holidays. It is difficult for people to accept change. There is nothing inherently wrong with the commercial, the masses just did not want to fix what was not broken. Eventually, people will either adjust to the new subtle differences, or Hershey will give in and go back to their original ad. Only time will tell, but the one thing that is for sure is that the new Hershey ad did not fare well in the public eye.