Who Plays The Little Lad In That Weird Starburst 'Berries And Cream' Commercial?
In 2007, Starburst unleashed a monster on the general public with its infamous "Berries and Cream" commercial. If the goal was for people to never forget about Starburst's berries and cream flavor, the company succeeded by introducing a precocious scamp who stumbles upon some regular guys enjoying the candy. This figure then breaks into a song and dance, declaring, "Berries and cream / Berries and cream / I'm a little lad who loves berries and cream!" It's arguably the performer's biggest role, but who is the person in the "Berries and Cream" commercial?
Their name is Jack Ferver, and they've mostly worked in the realm of theater. However, they do have a few TV and film credits outside of the Starburst ad, including roles on "Strangers with Candy" and "Law and Order: Criminal Intent." Outside of that, Ferver's mostly written, directed, and acted in theatrical productions. According to their online bio, they performed in "Is Global Warming Camp? and other forms of theatrical distance for the end of the world" in 2022 and have taught at Bard College.
The performer's made quite a name for themselves, with The New Yorker proclaiming, "Ferver's performances are so extreme that they sometimes look and feel like exorcisms." That was in regard to a dance-theatre project, but it's not a bad interpretation of Ferver's Starburst character, who truly feels like a demonic entity.
Jack Ferver gave the berries and cream lad a YouTube channel
For most people, the "Berries and Cream" commercial is probably where they know Jack Ferver from, unless they frequent offbeat theatre productions on the East Coast. However, the legacy of the Starburst ad has sustained itself for well over a decade at this point. Ferver themselves brought back the character for a YouTube channel called "The Real Little Lad" in 2021. The world welcomed the berries and cream enthusiast back with open arms, as the comments section for their first video, "hello you toob," is filled with delighted responses from people glad to see the scoundrel back.
Ferver also brought the character to TikTok, where the ad got a bit of a second life via people making their own videos of the little lad's dance and song. It all stemmed from a short "Berries and Cream" dance tutorial uploaded to YouTube in 2007 to carry on the commercial's popularity. Adweek talked with someone who worked on the Starburst campaign, Gerry Graf, about how the "Berries and Cream" ad blew up on TikTok years after it came about. Graf explained, "It's the first TikTok dance — that we just happened to create for YouTube."
Many commercials air for a few weeks and are then promptly forgotten. But the Starburst "Berries and Cream" commercial has transcended being a mere ad spot. It's a cultural sensation, and we all have Jack Ferver's extreme, exorcism-esque performance to thank for it.