Wonderful Pistachios, known for its iconic “Get Crackin’” ads, launched its biggest “Get Crackin’” advertising campaign ever, investing $55 million to support the largest pistachio crop in history. The irreverent and comedic commercials feature a really big star—literally—with the introduction of Ernie the Elephant. This pistachio-loving, health-conscious, somewhat bold, always hilarious, computer-generated spokes-elephant refuses to work for peanuts and is voiced by WWE Superstar John Cena.
Ernie the Elephant makes his debut in two commercials, which air during tonight’s “Monday Night Football,” “Dancing with the Stars,” “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” and more. In one spot, Ernie attends a baseball game, touting Wonderful Pistachios as a superior snack to those tired old peanuts sold at the stadium. Another features Ernie as “the elephant in the room”—or elevator—talking up pistachios, while his tons-of-fun personality tests the elevator’s weight sensors. In the coming months, eight more commercials will air and pistachio lovers will witness Ernie’s unique take on elephant stereotypes, supermarket shopping, working out, lady squirrels and airport travel.
Get Crackin' Behind the Scenes with John Cena and Richard Sherman
The newest evolution of the “Get Crackin’” campaign was created by Wonderful Pistachios’s in-house creative team, Wonderful Agency. Ernie was animated by Moving Picture Company (MPC), the Academy Award-winning global creative studio behind VFX for Disney’s recent hit film “The Jungle Book.” The campaign will be amplified by print and outdoor advertising, in-store POS, a large-scale digital and social media campaign, and public relations. In addition, Wonderful Pistachios and their new spokes-elephant Ernie are committed to elephant conservation and will soon announce how they will join the herd in protecting the future of elephants worldwide.