Move over beauty pageants, for there is way cuter crowning glory in store for animals. It is called the Cadbury Bunny Tryouts. Each year countless pet lovers enrol their pets to win the coveted contest, currently in its sixth year in the USA. The winner of the latest edition was declared last weekend, and it is none other than fan favourite Louie the Raccoon. Louie will not only have a starring role in the 2025 Cadbury Bunny Tryouts commercial, he has also been awarded $7,000.
Louie, who is two years old, hails from Miami, Florida. He was rescued by Jaime Arslan in 2021. Back then experts had said Louie would not be able to survive in the wild.
Louie’s daily routine consists of chilling on his favourite tree and enjoying loads of pamper sessions from Arslan. The animal also creates art using his toe-painting skills to help with fundraising for wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centres.
What made the Cadbury Bunny Tryouts stand out in 2024 was a bracket-style elimination tournament on Instagram. This was a first for the competition. Pet-owners nationwide submitted their pets for consideration through Instagram posts explaining why their beloved furry (or scaly) friend should be the next Cadbury Bunny. Pet lovers and Cadbury fans voted for their favourite contestants as finalists were narrowed down from “thirty-cute” to the Final Bunny.
Natalie Shuntich, senior associate marketing manager at The Hershey Company, said, “Each year we look forward to crowning a new Cadbury Bunny, especially this year where we engaged fans in a new way through our bracket-style competition. It was incredible to see pet lovers getting in on the fun.”
Arslan gushed, “We are thrilled that Louie has been chosen the winner of this year’s Cadbury Bunny Tryouts. We are long-time fans of the brand and are honoured to see Louie join the long legacy of incredible Cadbury Bunnies.”
Previous winners of the competition are Crash the Rescue Cat (2023), Annie Rose the Therapy Dog (2022), Betty the Frog (2021), Lieutenant Dan the Treeing Walker Coonhound (2020), and Henri the English Bulldog (2019).
Now if only such a contest were to come to India!
Source: PR Newswire
<screaming!!!!> Congrats to Louie the #Raccoon for becoming the next Cadbury bunny!! 🦝🦝🫶🫶 THANK YOU to everyone here who popped on IG and gave him a vote. You get extra grapes! 😉🫢This is such great news for him, raccoon lovers, and for the wildlife rehabilitation center! pic.twitter.com/1ljTBamogJ
— Sean 🏳️🌈 | 🍀 (@dsotm76) March 25, 2024
Please vote for Louie! ❤️🦝
He made it to the finals to be the 2024 Cadbury bunny and now he needs us!
Right now he’s a bit behind his opponent so please go and vote for him 😭🙏 pic.twitter.com/ssyq4uTsK5— ARAI ❤️🦝 (@sweetraccoons) March 22, 2024
