Panda Cares®, the philanthropic arm of Panda Express, has quietly raised over $415 million since 1999 to support the health and education needs of underserved youth. Yet, despite this impact, guests were largely unaware of where their donations went or the profound difference they were making. In 2024, as the organization celebrated its 25th anniversary, we aimed to transform this overlooked reality into a breakthrough moment.
We launched a heartfelt and engaging social campaign with one simple goal: to elevate awareness of the Panda Cares “why” -- the tangible, life-changing outcomes of guests’ collective generosity – and to do it in a way that stuck.
The strategy centered on storytelling, partnering with Tubby Nugget, a beloved animated character with over 7 million followers known for its uplifting and universally relatable content. With both brands deeply rooted in positivity and joy, the collaboration was a natural fit.
Together, Panda and the Tubby Nugget team co-created a four-part animated video series that brought the impact of Panda Cares to life through rhyme, charm, and childlike wonder. In each episode, Tubby takes viewers on bite-sized adventures while learning how guest and associate donations are helping to shape brighter futures for kids.
Past Panda Cares Day initiatives focused on hyper-local efforts, but this partnership aimed to build long-term awareness, fundamentally shift perception, and deepen guests’ emotional connection to a cause that's core to Panda’s brand. This was a conscious effort to demonstrate that every meal purchased at Panda could truly lead to meaningful change.
- The Bold Strategic Gamble
- Historically, Panda Cares Day® has been a one-day anniversary celebration. But for the 25th milestone, we saw a bigger opportunity. A legacy spanning two decades deserved more than a single moment. Our strategic breakthrough: extend the celebration across an entire month, creating sustained awareness and deeper connection to Panda Cares' mission.
- The real breakthrough came in the storytelling approach. Instead of expected influencer collaborations, Panda tried something unprecedented—partnering with an animated character to approach serious philanthropy with humor and heart. It was a bold, feel-good risk: Tubby Nugget's warmth helped transform charitable messaging into content people actually wanted to engage with.
- The Partnership That was Destined to Happen
- What started as a briefing became a shared mission. Tubby Nugget’s creators didn’t just understand Panda Cares—they connected personally. When they learned Panda Express covers 100% of administrative costs, so every dollar goes directly to kids, they said, "Wait, all of it?" That moment turned interest into passion and validation that they’d found the perfect mission to champion.
- After hours of research, Tubby Nugget’s team took full creative lead—writing, storyboarding, and animating the entire series with little input from Panda.
- Execution That Won Hearts
- The series launched with “Booming Voice,” where Tubby Nugget enjoys Orange Chicken while belting out a catchy tune about giving back. Posted in sync across our channels, the video hit millions of followers who had never heard of Panda Cares.
- Each subsequent video added depth. The videos didn’t just entertain, but invited viewers into the Panda Cares Centers of Hope. Through playful animation, audiences saw how the donations funded critical programs like art therapy, academic tutoring, to safe spaces for healing. The message was clear, memorable, and—most importantly—shareable.
- Challenges That Sharpened the Story
- Challenge one: Panda Cares' awareness and complexity. Despite supporting Children's Miracle Network Hospitals and Boys & Girls Clubs nationwide, guests didn't understand how their donations were actually used. Through the video series, we showed audiences what Panda Cares Centers of Hope did and how their donations benefitted holistic programs addressing children's well-being and education resources, transforming abstract giving into tangible impact.
- Challenge two: skepticism around humor. Using animation to talk about serious causes felt risky. Could joy and humor carry the weight of real impact? Would an animated nugget land with the right emotional tone? Instead of dialing it back, we trusted our instincts and Tubby’s superpower for storytelling with heart. Every frame had to balance levity with meaning. We had to keep the lightness of Tubby’s charm while anchoring the campaign in real-life impact.
- The Innovation That Changes Everything
- Throughout this campaign, we showed that animation can inspire genuine connection and empathy. By leading with heart, hope, and humor, we tapped into a storytelling style that felt refreshing and uplifting, allowing audiences to engage with the cause in a way that was approachable, memorable, and deeply human. Not to mention, Tubby Nugget became a true lifelong advocate.
This campaign achieved something unprecedented: it became Panda Express' most successful social media campaign for Panda Cares in the organization's 25-year history. The numbers tell a story of breakthrough awareness and authentic connection.
Tubby Nugget's video series shattered every previous benchmark:
- Campaign Totals: Over 28.4 million total views on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube, with over 18,500 hours of total playtime on TikTok. That's 12x more views than 3 years of Panda Cares content combined!
- Instagram Performance: Reached 11.4 million accounts and garnered over 150,000 total engagements - an unprecedented scale for Panda Cares content.
- "Booming Voice" Instagram debut achieved: 70,763 engagements and 8.6 million views - exceeding the next-best Panda Cares post by 3x total engagements and 10x increase in views.
- Strong organic performance: Even without paid boosting, the two organic Tubby posts reached 2.5x more accounts (368K) and garnered 3.2x more engagements than all 2023 Panda Cares content combined.
Beyond metrics, we achieved strategic breakthrough: We transformed Panda Cares from an abstract charity into a tangible impact through authentic storytelling and an unexpected partnership. Tubby Nugget became a genuine advocate, creating content that audiences actively chose to engage with. Most importantly, we shifted how guests understand their role—turning an overlooked donation box into a clear pathway to meaningful change and establishing a new benchmark for connecting community to causes that matter.
