Were you watching the Super Bowl during the second quarter on Feb. 8? If so, you probably caught a commercial for Nerds — marking the third year the candy, made in Forest Park, has made an appearance in an ad during the Super Bowl.
In this year’s spot, Andy Cohen, a TV show host on Bravo, tries Nerds Juicy Gummy Clusters by the pool and says to the personified candy character, Gummy, “Woah, you’re juicy and mega now? This is huge! We gotta show the world the new you!” Then, the two parade down a red carpet together.
Nerds revealed the bigger, juicer version of its gummy clusters in September. Then, Michael Butler, a Nerds brand manager at Ferrara Candy Company, told the Review that it was Nerds’ biggest launch since gummy clusters hit shelves in 2020.
While it was a challenge to get the Nerds to fuse to the rest of the candy in the original gummy clusters, adding a gummy center presented its own difficulties.
“Scaling up the candy and adding a juicy center introduced new challenges, especially in maintaining the right texture and flavor balance,” Butler previously told the Review. “Ferrara’s technical teams worked in partnership with our Forest Park factory team to ensure the juice complemented, rather than overwhelmed, the candy.”
Nerds’ first ever Super Bowl ad aired in 2024, showing Gummy leaning back on a chair, pulling a chain and being doused with Nerds as “Flashdance…What a Feeling” plays.
Last year’s 30-second spot included Shaboozey singing Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” while eating Nerds Gummy Clusters and walking down Bourbon Street in New Orleans, where last year’s Super Bowl took place.
After Nerds’ first ad in 2024, the brand’s household penetration increased by 4.3% to over 25%, meaning about 33 million households in the United States bought Nerds.
Jenny Chen, a Nerds brand manager, previously told the Review that much of the company’s growth can be attributed to Nerds Gummy Clusters. Launched in 2020, the candy saw a 50.2% year-over-year growth in retail dollar sales from 2024 to 2025.
Nerds Juicy Gummy Clusters are made in four plants in Illinois, including the Ferrara Candy Company factory at 7301 W. Harrison St. in Forest Park.