It was 2007. If you were watching TV back then, you probably remember the exact moment your brain short-circuited. A guy in a Victorian-era pageboy outfit—complete with a buckled collar and a bob haircut that would make a 1960s mod jealous—started doing a frantic, rhythmic jig. He wasn't selling insurance or a car. He was screaming about Starburst. Specifically, the berries n cream commercial had arrived, and advertising was never quite the same again.
Most ads from that era are totally gone from our collective memory. Do you remember the Geico Cavemen? Maybe. Do you remember what the Ford F-150 spot looked like in 2007? Not a chance. But the "Little Lad" is eternal. Jack Ferver, the actor behind the character, created something so bizarrely specific that it bypassed our logic centers and went straight into the "weird stuff I'll remember forever" folder.
It’s kinda fascinating how a thirty-second spot for a candy flavor that isn't even a flagship product managed to achieve immortality. It wasn't just a fluke. It was a perfect storm of weird casting, a catchy (and annoying) song, and a dance that was just easy enough for kids to mimic in the school cafeteria.
The Origin Story of the Little Lad
We have to talk about the agency behind this madness. TBWA\Chiat\Day New York was the powerhouse that birthed this fever dream. At the time, they were leaning hard into "absurdist" humor, which was becoming the dominant language of the internet. YouTube was only two years old. Viral marketing was a term people were still trying to figure out.
Enter Jack Ferver.
Ferver is actually a highly respected choreographer and writer now, but back then, they were the "Little Lad." The costume was intentionally jarring. It looked like something stolen from the set of a colonial period drama, but the setting was a nondescript hallway. This contrast is a classic comedy trope, but Ferver’s performance pushed it into the uncanny valley. The high-pitched voice asking, "Excuse me, are you eating berries and cream?" followed by that aggressive, stomping dance—it was pure chaos.
Honestly, the "Berries and Cream" song is basically a nursery rhyme on speed.
“Berries and cream, berries and cream! I’m a little lad who loves berries and cream!” It’s repetitive. It’s loud. It’s impossible to get out of your head. That was the point. Marketing experts call this an "earworm," but this was more like a brain parasite.
Why the Berries n Cream Commercial Went Viral Twice
Most commercials die after their airtime budget runs out. This one didn't. It had its first life in 2007 on television and early YouTube. But then, something weird happened in 2021. TikTok found it.
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Suddenly, millions of Gen Z creators—many of whom weren't even born when the ad first aired—were dressing up in lace collars and doing the "Little Lad" dance. It became a massive trend. We're talking billions of views under the hashtag. People started "remixing" the audio with everything from heavy metal to Taylor Swift.
Jack Ferver even leaned into it, creating an official TikTok account to reclaim the character. Seeing a character from 15 years ago reappear in the exact same costume, looking barely a day older, was surreal. It proved that the berries n cream commercial wasn't just a dated relic of the 2000s; it was a foundational piece of internet culture. It fits the "random" humor that TikTok thrives on perfectly.
The Psychology of "Random" Humor
Why does this stuff work? Why do we gravitate toward a pale man dancing for candy?
Psychologically, it's about the disruption of expectations. When you watch a commercial, your brain is prepared for a pitch. You expect to be told why a product is good. When a "Little Lad" appears and starts doing a jig instead of explaining the flavor profile of a Starburst, it triggers a "What on earth?" response. This forces the brain to pay more attention.
- It creates a strong emotional anchor (even if that emotion is confusion).
- The simplicity of the dance makes it participatory.
- The character is gender-ambiguous and timeless, making it ripe for parody.
If you look at other ads from that time—like the Skittles "Berries and Cream" ad with the bearded man eating from a rabbit—you see a pattern. Mars, Inc. (who owns both brands) was betting big on the "weird is memorable" strategy. It worked. People still talk about these ads while they’ve forgotten every "serious" commercial from the same Super Bowl seasons.
The Impact on Modern Advertising
You can see the DNA of the Little Lad in almost every viral campaign today. When you see a brand like Duolingo post a video of their mascot being unhinged, or Ryan Reynolds making a meta-commentary ad for Mint Mobile, they are standing on the shoulders of the berries n cream commercial.
It taught brands that they didn't have to be "cool." In fact, being desperately uncool and weird was often more effective. It broke the third wall. It acknowledged that commercials are inherently silly, so why not lean into the absurdity?
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However, there’s a limit. If every brand tries to be "random," the effect wears off. This is why many modern attempts at "meme-baiting" feel forced. The Berries and Cream spot felt like a genuine piece of outsider art that just happened to be selling candy. You can't manufacture that kind of lightning in a bottle twice.
What Really Happened to the Flavor?
Here’s the kicker: the candy wasn't even that good according to many people at the time. The "Berries and Cream" Starburst were part of a "Creamy" line that didn't stick around forever. While you can sometimes find berry-flavored Starburst in various packs today, the specific "Berries and Cream" product that sparked the ad has largely faded from shelves.
It's a bizarre paradox. The marketing was so successful that the ad outlived the product itself. Usually, if an ad is a hit, sales skyrocket and the product becomes a staple. But here, the "Little Lad" became the product. People wanted the meme, not necessarily the chewy candy.
How to Capture the "Little Lad" Energy in Your Own Content
If you're a creator or a marketer looking at this and wondering how to replicate it, don't try to copy the dance. That’s been done. Instead, look at the core principles of what made it work.
First, commitment is everything. Jack Ferver didn't wink at the camera. They played the character with 100% sincerity. The Little Lad really loved berries and cream. If there had been even a hint of "look how wacky we're being," the ad would have flopped.
Second, sound design matters more than you think. The clicking of the heels, the specific cadence of the voice—these are the things that stick in the "auditory cortex." If you’re making a video, spend more time on the audio than the color grading.
Third, embrace the "short-form" mindset. The original ad was 30 seconds, but the core "hook" was only about six seconds long. That’s the exact length of a Vine or a short TikTok. It was built for the future before the future even existed.
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Moving Forward with the Legacy
The berries n cream commercial serves as a case study in "sticky" content. It reminds us that humans are fundamentally weird creatures who like weird things. We don't always want polished, beautiful imagery. Sometimes, we just want to see a man in a wig dance about fruit-flavored sugar.
If you want to dive deeper into this specific era of pop culture, look into the work of Gerry Graf. He was the creative director behind many of these legendary ads. His philosophy was often about finding the "uncomfortable" truth or the most bizarre angle possible.
The next time you find yourself humming that tune while walking down the grocery aisle, don't fight it. It's just a 20-year-old marketing spell doing its job.
To apply these insights today, focus on "Pattern Interruption." If you are writing an email, don't start with "I hope this finds you well." Start with something jarring. If you're filming a video, don't use the same "influencer voice" everyone else uses. Find your own version of the buckled shoes and the bob haircut.
The world is loud and crowded. The only way to get noticed is to do a little jig and scream about what you love, even if it’s just berries and cream.
Next Steps for Content Strategy:
Identify the "norm" in your specific niche or industry. List the top five things everyone else is doing. Then, brainstorm one way to do the exact opposite—even if it feels slightly "unprofessional" or strange. Test this "Pattern Interruption" in a low-stakes environment, like a social media post or a newsletter subject line, and measure the engagement compared to your standard content. The goal isn't to be weird for the sake of it, but to break the viewer's autopilot.