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A partially unwrapped Tonyโ€™s Chocolonely chocolate bar sits on a red surface, with several pieces broken off and chocolate crumbs scattered around.

Tony Chocolonely wins ยฃ200,000 campaign from Immediate

Tonyโ€™s Chocolonely has been announced as the winner of Immediate’s inaugural sustainable advertising competition.

Launched to mark World Environment Day, the competition was open to any advertiser making tangible progress on environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals to make a real difference, to win a digital advertising campaign worth ยฃ200,000, running across Immediateโ€™s marketing-leading brands, including Radio Times, Good Food and BBC Gardenersโ€™ World Magazine.

Tonyโ€™s Chocolonely was crowned winner with the judging panel praising its clear, credible, and impactful ESG work. Chocolate manufacturer Tonyโ€™s Chocolonely’s mission is to end exploitation in the cocoa industry, fighting against forced labour, child labour, and deforestation.

The brandโ€™s entry highlighted the “bitter truth” of the cocoa industryโ€™s use of child labour and contribution to deforestation. It presented its “sweet solution” through five Sourcing Principles, which include paying higher prices, ensuring 100% traceability, and improving cocoa quality and yields.

The advertising campaign will be created by Imagine, Immediate’s award-winning content studio, running across Immediateโ€™s premium digital platforms. Its performance will be tracked using IMClear, Immediate’s proprietary tool for measuring advertising effectiveness against ESG metrics.

The expert judges included Immediateโ€™s Sustainability lead Michelle Whitehead, Good Foodโ€™s Managing Editor Lulu Grimes, BBC Gardenersโ€™ World Content Director, Kevin Smith and Matt Bourn, Director of Communications at the Advertising Association (AA).

“We were so delighted by the response to this competition with so many brands striving to make a tangible difference. Tonyโ€™s Chocolonelyโ€™s open-source approach facilitates brands to source using its tried-and-tested methods proves that real change is about lifting everyone, not just leading alone. Immediate wants to help that message travel further.”

Michelle Whitehead, Immediateโ€™s Sustainability Lead

Michelle Whitehead, Sustainability Lead at Immediate, Headshot

“Tonyโ€™s Chocolonely impressed me hugely as the brand is built on foundations designed to bring about positive change, re-shaping a huge industry. It hasnโ€™t adapted to be better; it exists to make a difference.ย  Tonyโ€™s practices making a meaningful difference on multiple fronts, from working conditions at source to reducing deforestation.โ€

Kevin Smith, Content Director, BBC Gardenersโ€™ World Magazine

Headshot of Kevin Smith, Head of Content, BBC Gardeners' World, Immediate Media Co.

โ€œAs a challenger brand our paid media budgets are tiny compared to our competitors so weโ€™re so grateful to Immediate for giving us this opportunity, especially with Less Healthy Food (LHF) regulations round the corner. It will help us reach even more people with our tasty chocolate and vision to end exploitation in cocoa.โ€

Nicola Matthews, Tonyโ€™s Chocolonely UKI Head of Marketing

A partially unwrapped Tonys Chocolonely chocolate bar with pieces broken off, set on a bright red background with chocolate crumbs scattered around.

IMClear is Immediateโ€™s pioneering proprietary tool for measuring advertising effectiveness against ESG metrics and supporting more sustainable media investment.

Immediate as a company has committed to net zero by 2045, with a target of reducing emissions by 30% by 2030.

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