Mumbai : Taking its philosophy a step further for Valentine’s Day this year, Cadbury 5Star is set to transform 14 February with a bold new campaign that will take the day of love out of the equation. Cadbury 5 Star has consistently supported individuals who feel disenchanted with Valentine’s Day and prefer to spend the occasion doing nothing. Building on the success of last year’s endeavor to help escape the mush, the brand along with its volunteers will introduce the ‘time travel vessel’, with a mission to Erase Valentine’s Day. On 14 February three brave volunteers will embark on a mission to fast forward the day from their timelines, with the entire world invited to witness the spectacle through an event which will be live streamed for all.

Commenting on the campaign, Mondelez India VP- marketing Nitin Saini said, “Cadbury 5 Star is an embodiment of bold cheekiness and mischief, and the current campaign will meet a new level of whimsy by doing the impossible – Erase Valentine’s Day. Since last year escaping Valentine’s Day was just not enough for some, we wanted to break the mush meter altogether for the 5 Star fanatics, and fast forwarding the day seemed like the only way to accomplish the mission while also offering a rollercoaster ride of laughter and endless banter. We hope this first-of-a-kind voyage with 5 Star will be a successful one with the mission as a new ray of hope for singles who will hopefully join us as Mission Engineers to make this collective dream come true.”

Cadbury 5Star has embarked on this mission in partnership with the legendary space scientist Nambi Narayanan, to introduce a unique ‘time travel vessel’, a ship named F.N.S. Cringe Vinash, that will be sent to cross the International Date Line between American Samoa and Samoa at exactly 11:59pm on 13 February 2024 thereby crossing the 24-hour threshold and setting foot into 15 February, 12:00am - the local time on the other side of the International Date Line thus, skipping 24 hours of Valentine’s day in a single minute! The volunteers who will embark on this momentous journey will symbolize the spirit of all those who wish to erase Valentine's Day from their calendars this year. These volunteers, equipped with an abundance of Cadbury 5Star treats, will indulge in these delightful confections and Do Nothing as they journey through time.

Ogilvy India chief creative officer Sukesh Nayak added, "5 Star has been surprising audiences every year with crazy digs at Valentine's Day. But this time, when Karunasagar Sridharan proposed the idea of literally erasing the day using time travel, we instantly knew that this was going to be bigger than anything we've done, and a mammoth task to pull off. Fortunately, the Ogilvy Experiential Marketing Team lead by Krishnakant Mishra managed to move mountains and get a ship to the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and our Ogilvy teams have orchestrated everything from a detailed live stream event in the middle of nowhere to a mission control room, and to add to the craziness, they've even brought in a legend like Nambi Narayanan to explain the science behind the mission. Every 'do nothing' campaign on 5 Star has been loved by audiences and we are looking forward to the buzz our latest installment generates."

Wavemaker India chief client officer & office head Shekhar Banerjee mentioned, “When it comes to building an anti-culture narrative, we know that one-size-fits-all approach just won't cut it. Disrupting popular norms and triggering conversations requires a unique and differentiated approach to media. For this mission, we teamed up with some cool influencers as our hosts, carefully chosen to help us achieve our goal. As a countdown to the time-machine launch we will see diverse media touchpoints building anticipation for the D-Day. So buckle up and brace for impact as Cringe Vinash is about to rewrite cultural narratives like never before. Stay tuned for an unforgettable experience.”

Conceptualized by Ogilvy, the brand has released an ad film announcing the mission and asking viewers to sign up as ‘Mission Engineers’ by visiting the mission’s website – www.erasevalentinesday.com. According to the website, Mission Engineers will get to play a ‘key role in making history’ - they will get to virtually connect with the control room during the event on 14 February and will even get to contribute LIVE to certain decisions taken by the crew.