Everyone likes Gummibärchen (also known as gummy bears) and in the year 1922, Haribo created a sensation, and many fans around the world, with their colourful and delicious bear-shaped treats. This special anniversary needed more than just a big gummy-bear-covered cake… it needed an event. Or better yet, a big birthday concert! Jung von Matt is known as an agency with some pretty weird and wonderful ideas. Their Haribo Kids Voices campaigns from the last few years have been absolute crowd-pleasers, taking silly everyday comments and conversations from kids, and having them played out by serious adult actors. So how to adapt this concept to the birthday concert concept.

Well we had the kids sing happy birthday and the serious-looking adult actors act it out on stage. Sounds easy enough, but there were quite a few things to take care of before reaching that final goal. What style should the song be and where do we find the right kid for the job? It had to be a rock concert, so we put together a large round of layouts, testing out the song as punk, metal, indie, glam and stadium rock. After several trials and tests, stadium rock was the winner. Next step was a nation-wide casting with various recording sessions. The right combination of cheekiness and musical ability had to be found. Our new friends Joschi and Liam became the singers to take the projekt to the stage. Joschi even learned Happy Birthday in several languages for the international versions. Lucky for us, Zauberberg Films and director Peter Harton know what they’re doing and we’re able to bring the song to life, on stage, for the concert of the century!

During the process, everyone realised that everyone’s favourite jingle might need a little revamp to fit in with the new campaign. It was also a little too long for some online formats that didn’t exist yet when the jingle was developed. Cutting the lyrics in half wasn’t an option though, as that would also cut the claim in half. Haribo is loved by kids and adults alike, after all. We casted some more kids, tested different tempos, tried humming, whistling, singing lalala and flicking our cheeks to see what sound could best be used to recreate this iconic jingle. Maybe we were all still in the rock n’ roll spirit, as we ended up with a guitar melody in the end. You never know if you don’t try it out though!