Babybel cheese and Candy Land team up to reach millennial parents in nostalgic marketing play

The board game is the latest in a streak of nostalgic campaigns over the last few months. Feeling the pain of inflation and higher prices, consumers are being more selective in their spending, so brands are looking to past connections to win some of those dollars. PepsiCo’s latest football ad stars retired NFL players, while McDonald’s Grimace Shake and As Featured In meal pull from the fast food chain’s history. Country Crock ads have also focused on a simpler time, and fans are also flocking to movies that play on nostalgia, including “Barbie” and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.”

Also read: Behind McDonald’s Grimace Shake marketing play 

To promote the board game, Babybel is partnering with actress Busy Philipps, who is known for her roles in late 1990s television shows including “Freaks and Geeks,” “Dawson’s Creek” and “ER,” as well as “Cougar Town” in the mid-2000s.

“For millennials, Busy is herself nostalgic because she was on Dawson’s Creek,” said Pedersen. The brand has also worked with her before, including with a back-to-school campaign in 2020.

Candy Land was created in 1948 by Eleanor Abbott, a retired schoolteacher who contracted polio. Surrounded by children who were suffering from the same disease, she created a game to help them pass the time. 

Babybel isn’t the first brand to collaborate with Candy Land. In recent years, versions of the board game have been made for Lucky Charms cereal as well as accessories and bags brand Stoney Clover Lane, while a digital version and pop-up were made with Werther’s Originals caramels.