Reese’s Puffs is launching a new creative campaign to celebrate Gen Z’s individuality and self-expression. The General Mills cereal brand aims to stay culturally relevant to that generation of teens, as they are the ones who significantly influence household purchasing decisions.

Devised by Mediabrands Content Studio, the “Feed Your Creativity” campaign shows unexpected and engaging ways to enjoy Reese’s Puffs through three emerging artists, who reimagine the brand’s cereals in their own mediums.

The brand teamed up with fashion designer Nandni, who crafted a streetwear collection using recycled materials, drawing inspiration from the cereal brand. Meanwhile, music producer 4Sante remixed the classic “Eat Em Up” jingle with modern beats. And rounding out the campaign was a Toronto streetcar wrapped inside and out with cereal-inspired artwork by graphic designer Arlin.

Emily Jones, senior director of connection planning at media agency UM Canada, tells strategy that this is the first time Reese’s Puffs partners with artists for a campaign in Canada. “Partnering with three young emerging artists enabled us to tap into these shared passions of music, art and fashion by having Gen Zs create content for Gen Zs,” she says.

For her part, Marianella Aguilera, brand experience and associate manager at General Mills, says the partnership with the artists helps showcase the cereal as a brand that not only celebrates self-expression, but also sparks Gen Z’s creativity.

“By driving brand desire and top-of-mind awareness for Reese’s Puffs cereal through creative and taste-forward messaging, we are tapping into that treat yourself and craving-oriented attitude demonstrated by this key audience to win at the shelf,” she adds.

The campaign is consistent with the brand’s positioning, which has focused on promoting the cereal as a breakfast staple. However, Aguilera notes that it takes a step further, making a nod to the brand’s iconic heritage and identity while portraying the cereal as a vehicle for self-expression.

The campaign was amplified through social executions on TikTok and Snapchat, relying on artist-led hero content and behind-the-scenes snapshots of their individual creative process. “We wanted to meet Gen Z’s where they are and connect with them in their language, which is why we focused on social channels like TikTok and Snapchat,” Jones says.

She adds, “OOH enabled us to launch the campaign at scale, with a high impact execution in downtown Toronto featuring street car takeovers. This in turn fueled our content program for the campaign, with live imagery of the in-market execution folded into video content to be leveraged across social media throughout the campaign.”