Hershey’s bets big on joy with new brand platform tied to the Olympics
The confection giant launches its first major campaign in 8 years, spotlighting happiness as its new brand core
Ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Milano Cortina, the chocolate maker has launched “It’s Your Happy Place,” a brand platform designed to refresh how the public sees Hershey’s.
The campaign leads with “Happiness Is the Real Gold,” a creative activation featuring U.S. Olympians and Paralympians, along with their families, telling personal stories about the joy behind their journeys.
This article explores what Hershey’s Olympic-timed relaunch means for brand marketers, the creative mechanics behind the campaign, and why now was the right time to turn up the media spend on a 130-year-old icon.
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Here’s a table of contents for quick access:
- Why Hershey’s is relaunching its brand now
- How ‘It’s Your Happy Place’ uses Olympic storytelling
- What marketers should know
Patrecia Meliana
Why Hershey's is relaunching its brand now
Hershey’s new campaign is the brand’s biggest marketing push in eight years and coincides with a 20% increase in its advertising budget. The effort is driven by a desire to reinvigorate the flagship Hershey’s brand—not just with new creative, but with a deeper brand purpose centered on happiness.
“It’s a lot more than just a campaign,” said Vinny Rinaldi, Vice President of Media and Marketing Technology at The Hershey Company. “It’s literally taking a brand and showing up in a completely different way, starting with the Olympics.”
The strategic timing is no coincidence. The Olympic Games provide a culturally resonant global stage where stories of perseverance, joy, and unity can shine—qualities Hershey’s is now associating directly with its products.
Hershey’s has been a Team USA sponsor since 2015, but “It’s Your Happy Place” marks a pivot toward long-term platform building, with extensions planned into other tentpole cultural moments, including America’s 250th anniversary and the 2026 World Cup.
How 'It's Your Happy Place' uses Olympic storytelling
The platform’s first campaign chapter, “Happiness Is the Real Gold,” features a cast of U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes: Brenna Huckaby, Erin Jackson, Hilary Knight, Jason Brown, and Jordan Stolz. Through a mix of digital, social, and linear formats, the content captures personal stories about what happiness means beyond winning gold.
In one segment, athletes are surprised with pre-recorded video messages from their families—who reflect on memories and what they wish for their loved ones. The twist: the wish isn’t for medals, but for happiness. This moment of emotional resonance aligns with Hershey’s attempt to reframe its product as a symbol of shared joy, not just a sweet treat.
To reinforce the metaphor, Hershey’s is also distributing limited-edition chocolate medals—wrapped in gold foil—to athletes, fans, and everyday people celebrating life’s smaller victories. These medals debut in Hershey’s Chocolate World and will roll out via TikTok Shop and The Hershey’s Store on February 13.
The execution leans heavily on digital-native formats, including Snap AR Lenses and TikTok Branded Effects, reflecting a clear pivot toward immersive, video-led storytelling and real-time activation. NBC integration and athlete-generated content will keep Hershey’s visible throughout the three-week Olympic window.
What marketers should know
Hershey’s campaign offers a playbook for legacy brands looking to stay emotionally relevant in a performance-obsessed era:
- Long-term brand equity still matters
In an age of short-term metrics and tactical spend, Hershey’s is taking a platform approach—investing in a brand idea that can evolve across multiple cultural moments, not just the Olympics.
- Emotional storytelling scales better with community input
By involving athletes' families and focusing on candid, unscripted content, the campaign brings authenticity to the message. It invites audiences to find their own "happy place" moments alongside Team USA.
- Digital-first doesn’t mean ignoring physical experiences
The chocolate medals bring a tactile, shareable artifact into a digital ecosystem. Marketers can take notes on how to bridge the physical and virtual to create more memorable brand touchpoints.
- Cultural timing amplifies emotional positioning
Launching during the Olympics adds gravitas and reach to a campaign that might otherwise be dismissed as seasonal or indulgent. The message of happiness, not gold, hits differently during a global gathering of ambition and unity.
For B2B marketers managing legacy or heritage brands, Hershey’s shift offers a template: pair emotional relevance with digital agility, and be prepared to turn passive brand equity into active engagement.
With “It’s Your Happy Place,” Hershey’s is doing more than capitalizing on the Olympic spotlight—it’s repositioning its core brand promise around shared joy and everyday celebration. The result is a campaign that feels timely, human, and strategically sound.
Whether it converts directly to chocolate sales or not, the effort underscores a key marketing truth: even icons need a refresh now and then. And in a world where consumers are craving meaning as much as sweetness, Hershey’s may have found its gold.
