RIP Gum
Mondelez
The global gum category was in long-term decline. Younger audiences no longer saw gum as culturally relevant, and internal confidence in the category was fading.
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Mondelez needed a bold, future-facing vision that could reframe gum’s role in modern culture and inspire belief inside the organisation that reinvention was possible.
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This film was created as an internal strategic provocation to reignite ambition for the category, with a specific focus on Gen Z.
Objective
To demonstrate to Mondelez leadership that the gum category could be revitalised by reconnecting with culture, and that Gen Z relevance was the key to its future growth.
The film needed to challenge existing thinking, unify stakeholders, and create momentum behind a new strategic direction.
Strategy
Use culture, not product, as the entry point.
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Instead of starting with gum, we started with Gen Z. Their behaviours, values, visual language, contradictions and self-expression. The category was reframed through their world, not Mondelez’s.
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The film was designed to feel provocative, contemporary and emotionally charged, positioning gum not as a functional product, but as a cultural accessory capable of reclaiming relevance.
The idea
A manifesto-style film that declared the death of the old gum category and introduced the possibility of a new one.
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“RIP Gum” became both a provocation and a reset.
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Through fashion-led casting, raw portraiture, cultural symbolism and unapologetic attitude, the film reframed gum as a statement of identity, rebellion and individuality, aligned with Gen Z culture rather than advertising convention.
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It wasn’t about showing gum.
It was about showing why gum could matter again.
What it delivered
The film gave Mondelez a new cultural lens through which to view the category.
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It replaced category fatigue with creative confidence, providing a clear, emotionally resonant vision for how gum could evolve, visually, strategically and culturally.
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Despite an extremely tight turnaround, the film landed with impact and clarity, uniting stakeholders behind a shared ambition for reinvention.
Impact
The film directly contributed to Mondelez winning Trident as a client.
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It proved that the gum category could still inspire culture-led thinking, and that Mondelez had the creative ambition to lead that transformation.
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What began as an internal provocation became a catalyst for new commercial opportunity.​
