Snickers Was So Advanced in 2016

This campaign is all it needs to prove it

April 24, 2025

Ever been so hungry you start getting a little grumpy?
You snap at people. The world feels extra annoying.

Now imagine everyone online feeling that way at the same time.

That’s exactly what Snickers noticed.. and instead of just watching the chaos…
They turned it into a genius marketing move.

They built a system that watched how angry the internet felt.
And the angrier it got, the cheaper Snickers became at 7-Eleven.

It’s one of those wild ideas that sounds too weird to work…

But it drove sales, won awards, and made Snickers look like a marketing genius.

Let’s dive in!

In Partnership With

Revive Your CRM with Our Free Newsletter Sprint

Turn Cold Leads into Warm Sales… without Lifting a Finger

Your CRM is packed with leads that once showed interest but went quiet?
We help you bring them back with one powerful newsletter.

  • We will write, design, and send an email to 500 of your best leads

  • You get real results like opens, clicks, replies

  • It’s 100% free - no sales calls, no strings

We are the team behind Marketing Maverick - a fast-growing marketing newsletter with 2,000+ engaged subscribers. Now we are helping B2B brands use email to drive revenue. If the test works (and it will), we will manage your full newsletter and even scale your growth with Meta ads.

Let your leads work for you. We will do the heavy lifting.

Campaign Overview

  • Campaign Name: Hungerithm

  • Campaign Dates: May – June 2016

  • Industry: Food & Beverage (Candy)

  • Target Audience: Young adults (18–35) in Australia

Snickers wanted to show people that being hungry makes you act differently.

You get angry, moody, or even rude. They already said this in their ads with the line:

You’re not you when you’re hungry.

But this time, they did something really smart.

They created a tool called Hungerithm (hunger + algorithm). It was a computer program watching Twitter in real-time. That means it checked the internet every second.

The tool looked for 3,000+ words that showed if people were angry, frustrated, or upset. When more people online were angry, the internet was in a bad mood.

And the price of Snickers went down.

The mood of the internet = the price of the candy. So:

  • If people are happy online, Snickers costs full price.

  • If people were angry online, the price dropped. Sometimes, up to 82 cents (AUD).

Here’s how it worked for customers:

  1. They went to a special Hungerithm website made by Snickers.

  2. The website showed them the live mood score of the internet.

  3. It also showed the current Snickers price at 7-Eleven.

  4. They could click a button to get a barcode if the price was low.

  5. They took that barcode to any 7-Eleven in Australia and bought their Snickers at the new cheaper price.

That wasn’t a coupon that stayed the same. The price kept changing all day, depending on how people felt online. Snickers made hunger, mood, and internet behavior all part of one campaign. It turned a simple candy bar into something fun and fresh.

And while people got cheaper candy, Snickers got people talking, sharing, and smiling. It was marketing, but it felt more like a cool game.

Campaign Objectives

Snickers didn’t just create the Hungerithm campaign to be funny or different.

They had clear goals behind them. Each goal helped the brand grow smartly.

1. Make People Talk About Snickers Again

Snickers had been around for a long time. Everyone knew the candy, but not everyone was excited about it anymore, mainly younger people.

So Snickers wanted to create something fresh that would get people talking.

With Hungerithm, people laughed, shared the website, and even tweeted how angry they were to make the price drop! It made Snickers popular on the internet again.

2. Drive More People to 7-Eleven Stores

Snickers teamed up with 7-Eleven. So, the price change would happen only in 7-Eleven stores. If someone wanted the cheaper candy, they had to go there. That was also great for 7-Eleven. More people walked into stores, and many bought other stuff, too.

3. Show Off the Brand’s Message in a New Way

Snickers has always used You’re not you when you’re hungry.

But instead of showing it in an ad, they proved it with data. The Hungerithm tracked people’s real-time anger online and linked it to hunger, as their message says.

The angrier the internet, the more hungry people must be, right?

4. Try Something Bold with Technology

Snickers uses a computer system (an algorithm) to read the internet's mood. That’s not something candy companies usually do. It was creative, tech-savvy, and interactive.

It also showed that Snickers is not afraid to do something different, and have fun doing it.

In short, the Hungerithm wasn’t just about discounts.

It was about attention, engagement, and real-world results... all while reminding people that Snickers can fix a bad mood.

Results

  • During the campaign, Snickers experienced a significant 67% boost in sales.

  • Another report by Better Marketing said that there was nearly a 70% increase in Snickers sales, with approximately 7,000 coupons redeemed.

  • The campaign led to a massive 1740% increase in social media traffic for the Snickers brand.

  • By mid-July, the campaign had more than 30 million media impressions.

  • There was a 120% rise in Twitter mentions for Snickers during the campaign period.

  • The campaign was highly acclaimed, winning 21 Lions at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in 2017, including six Gold Lions.

  • It also received accolades from D&AD, One Show, New York Festivals, APAC Effies, and the Australian Effie Awards.

Turn Comments into Content

  • The idea is that your audience is already telling you in comments, replies, reviews, and DMs what they care about. Don’t guess what to post. Just use their words to create your next content.

Here's how you can use this strategy:

  1. Pick a question or comment someone left.

    Something like - Does this work for beginners? How long does shipping take? What tools do you use for your emails?

  2. Turn that into a post or email.

    For example - A short video answering it, a carousel post, or a blog post: Shipping Questions We Get All the Time (Answered Simply!).

  3. Mention the person (if possible).

    For instance, someone asked us this yesterday, so we thought we would share it here.

  4. Add a clear CTA.

    Keep it like - Got more questions? Drop them below — we might turn yours into the next post!

Why This Works:

  • It’s content your audience already wants

  • It makes followers feel heard and valued

  • It gives you endless ideas without overthinking

  • It builds trust. You are not selling but helping.

Start a folder called Content from Comments and save screenshots or copy-paste common questions from your DMs and comments.

You will never run out of content again.

Conclusion

Snickers tapped into the mood of the internet and made it work for their product. Instead of guessing when people would buy candy, they let people’s emotions decide the price.

It was smart, simple (for the customer), and share-worthy.

The best part is you don’t need a big budget to borrow the same idea.

You just need to ask: What real-world trigger can I connect to a timely offer? What emotion or moment would make my product feel like the perfect fix?

Now your turn…

  • What’s one product you think people only buy when they are stressed or tired?

  • And what’s one place you have seen a brand turn a mood into a marketing move?

Drop your thoughts in the comments!

How would you rate today's post?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

❝

Master the topic, the message, and the delivery.

Steve Jobs