Cadbury Will Update Its Iconic ‘Clucking Bunny’ Auditions Commercial After 35 Years

Most commercials are fleeting: On the air today, gone tomorrow. But occasionally, some resonate and live on, whether it’s in pop culture references (“Where’s the beef?”) or as the original advertisements, returning time and again, becoming reliable tentpoles of both product promotion and nostalgia. Confectioner the Hershey Company is lucky enough to have at least two such commercials in its archives: The Christmastime classic featuring Kisses chiming out “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” and, with its license of the Cadbury brand in the U.S. market, the famous clucking bunny (and pig, lion, llama, and other critters) ad for Creme Eggs.

Created 35 years ago, the commercial portraying a menagerie of animals donning white rabbit ears in an attempt to audition for the role of the Cadbury Bunny has changed little in over three decades of continuous springtime airings (it did make a digitally-enhanced transition from a four-by-three ratio to a widescreen format with the dawn of HDTVs). It’s been on TV nearly my entire — what we’ll call — fully-sentient life along with the M&M’s and Santa Claus “They do exist!” ad and that Campbell’s commercial with the melting snowman/child eating soup. But now, Hershey has announced its intentions to update the commercial in the most personal way possible. Pet owners across the U.S. can submit their own furry, feathered, finned, or otherwise multi-footed friend for a shot at becoming one of the revamped campaign’s stars.

“The Cadbury Clucking Bunny commercial is one of our most iconic, longest running ads,” Hershey marketing director Ed Edson said in a statement provided to Food & Wine. “The commercial was shot nearly 35 years ago and celebrated the Cadbury bunny and all the pets that tried to claim the spotlight in their own bunny ears. Since then, we’ve seen people recreate these images with their pigs, dogs, cats, turtles, and more dressed up as bunnies around the Easter season. Why not give them a chance to try out to be a part of the ad our fans know and love? Our plan is to incorporate the best tryout entry, picked by Doug the Pug and the Cadbury team, into the commercial which will run on TV by mid-April.”

I took my dog, Tasha, to the launch event featuring that Insta-famous pup Doug the Pug and a slew of other animal influencers. She, predictably, failed her audition photo:

To enter your own pet, just submit a photo them wearing bunny ears to the Bunny Tryouts website through March 6, 2019. The next day, twenty semi-finalists will be selected to send in a video which will be shared across Cadbury social media channels. And one lucky pet will get a gig in the updated commercial, along with $5,000. As part of the promotion, Cadbury will also donate $10,000 to the ASPCA. Find out more specific contest rules at https://bunnytryouts.cadburyusa.com/.