• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, November 9, 2015

St. Louis Rams rookie running back Todd Gurley not only donned a tutu, but danced to "I'm a Little Teapot," for a 15-second TV spot for Hershey's Jolly Rancher candy brand.

The ad, called "Being a Rookie Sucks," marks Gurley’s first brand campaign and TV commercial. It aired nationally for the first time during Nov. 8's slate of NFL games, and is being featured on Jolly Rancher's Twitter and Facebook pages.

It's the latest creative for the brand's recently launched "Keep on Sucking" campaign, from Anomaly. Aimed at candy fans ages 18 to 24, the campaign's premise is that the hard, fruit-flavored candy ("the candy you suck, not chew") can help people get through life's everyday "sucky" moments.

Gurley — who was recruited as a brand rep after he tweeted about his "addiction" to the candies — is of course now tweeting about his Jolly Rancher campaign, as well. 

The brand's young-Millennial core fans are also big fans of sports, and football in particular, reports Jolly Rancher. And as rookies at the game of life, these young consumers are bound to relate to watching the 20-year-old Gurley use Jolly Rancher to help roll with his rookie challenges — or so the thinking goes. (Looks like Gurley's going to need that flexible attitude: Not only was he bested on the field on November 8 by the Minnesota Vikings' experienced Adrian Peterson; he was also ruled out of bounds because one of his dreadlocks touched outside bounds.) 

Jolly Rancher also has a partnership with NFL Twitter. Its Todd Gurley pre-roll will surround 80 highlights per week through the end of the year, and it's syndicating some of the earned media highlights, according to a spokesperson. 

The campaign's other TV spots include “Middle Seat Sucks” and “Internships Suck.” 

In addition, the brand is introducing animated characters representing the candy's various flavors, called "The Jolly Ranchers," whose antics illustrate that "sucking" can be a good thing. The characters and #KeepOnSucking are being featured on social and in various creative, including 15-second pre-roll videos ("Dive" and "Basketball").

Social is a major focus for the campaign. Jolly Rancher is monitoring social media channels for complaints that use the words "suck" or "sucks," and using a team of illustrators and writers to customize humorous responses that are quickly tweeted back to the complainers.

The brand launched a Snapchat ad campaign last week, and kicked off an influencer campaign over the weekend.

Branded partnerships with potential for merchandise, and out-of-home advertising, are also in the mix.