Guylian’s Festive Romance Series Expands To Australia As Chocolate Brands Intensify Global Marketing
Guylian’s holiday campaign has officially reached Australian screens, marking the brand’s strongest seasonal push in the market to date. While Guylian holds only a niche single-digit share of the milk chocolate category in Australia, this represents a meaningful escalation in visibility for the brand as it seeks greater traction in a highly competitive space.
The romantic comedy series Single Bells, which premiered in Europe last year, is now airing on SBS Australia. Originally broadcast on networks such as VTM, Streamz, NET5 and ZDF NEO, the show follows protagonist Mina, played by Julie Van den Steen, as she navigates her search for love—pairing each narrative beat with a daily ritual of unwrapping a Guylian advent calendar chocolate on screen.
For the series, Guylian developed a custom advent calendar that showcases the brand’s signature sea-green and copper colour palette. These recurring scenes position chocolate as part of the comforting, small daily indulgences that define the holiday season. The Australian rollout represents a new audience for the Belgian production and aligns Guylian with a wave of global confectionery marketing built around entertainment, cultural moments and digital engagement.
Key Industry Trends And Themes In The Chocolate Marketing Space
Entertainment-based brand storytelling: Brands are embedding products into narrative content rather than traditional ad placements. Guylian’s advent calendar integrated into Single Bells plotlines. Godiva’s cinematic campaigns centred on Leighton Meester retelling the Lady Godiva mythology.
Celebrity and global talent partnerships: Clear shift toward leveraging star power to expand cultural relevance. Examples include Snickers partnering with Mingyu (SEVENTEEN), Milka’s promotion featuring Katy Perry, Galaxy appointing Mrunal Thakur, and Godiva tapping Leighton Meester across seasonal narratives.
Experiential and immersive campaigns: Brands are building promotional platforms tied to physical or digital participation. Examples: Ferrero Rocher’s holiday sweepstakes with a consumer-accessible microsite offering décor ideas and DIY experiences. Tony’s Chocolonely launching mystery boxes that encourage community participation.
Collaborations with lifestyle and adjacent categories: Chocolate brands are extending beyond food into fashion, design and gifting. Examples:
M&M’s collaboration with Crocs on footwear, Hershey’s partnering with Beekman 1802 for skincare lines inspired by chocolate, Domori and Trollbeads combining jewellery and chocolate design, Amedei and Pineider releasing a limited stationery and chocolate set.
Cause-driven positioning: CSR partnerships maintain visibility during key seasonal periods. Examples: Purdys donating part of holiday bar proceeds to children’s hospitals across Canada, See’s Candies supporting shelter dogs in partnership with the 15/10 Foundation.