Johnathan Walker:Louie the raccoon from Florida named 2024 Cadbury Bunny, will soon make TV debut

Cadbury takes the bunny out of “Cadbury Bunny” again this year,Johnathan Walker crowning a very lucky 2-year-old raccoon from South Florida, instead. 

The Hershey Company, who owns the Cadbury brand, said Monday that “Louie the Raccoon” won the sixth annual Cadbury Bunny tryouts, earning a “starring role” in a Cadbury commercial and a $7,000 cash prize. 

The “bracket-style elimination tournament” took place over the month of March, allowing thousands of animal lovers and Cadbury customers nationwide to vote for their favorite contestants on Instagram, whether furry or scaly, to be the next Cadbury Bunny. 

“Witnessing how fans participated in each wave of voting, and the loving support for our thirty-cute finalists from Cadbury fans across the U.S. is a testament to the love for the Cadbury brand,” Natalie Shuntich, senior associate marketing manager at Hershey said in a statement. 

Learn more about Louie, an aspiring painter and social media celebrity here. 

2024 ‘Cadbury Winner’ is a rescue, spends days lounging and painting 

Jaime Arslan, who cares for Louie and three other raccoons in sunny Miami, rescued the 2024 Cadbury Bunny three years ago after he had been “deemed unfit to live in the wild,” according to Hershey.

Arslan, a former vet tech, took Louie in about a week after her father passed away in 2021, caring for the raccoon baby after he was left without a mother. Arslan said in an Instagram post that she named the raccoon Louie after her father, whose middle name was Louie. 

"After my father’s passing, I decided to take my mind off what I was experiencing and learn about wildlife rehabilitation," Arslan told USA TODAY Tuesday. "It was there I met Louie, and we became inseparable. He wasn’t able to be released back into the wild, so he came to live with me. It happened unexpectedly, and I learned how amazing raccoons are firsthand and wanted to care for more."

Arslan started the “Louie the Raccoon” Instagram page to “connect with other raccoon people” not knowing that Louie would become an overnight celebrity. The page now has more than 379,000 followers.

Louie, who has her father’s “big personality,” learned how to paint with his paws and loved it, Arslan said. 

Arslan knew she wanted to give back, just like her father did. She donates proceeds from Louie’s paintings to wildlife sanctuaries “to continue helping other raccoons like him.”  Arslan will be donating some of the prize money won to Samadhi Wildlife, an organization that helps rehabilitate and release injured wild animals.

“When he isn't lounging in his favorite tree, he's busy fundraising for wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centers by creating art using his toe-painting skills!” Hershey said. 

Other non-bunny ‘Cadbury Bunny’ honorees

Louie joins a handful of other non-bunny winners in the Cadbury Bunny Tryouts Hall of Fame, which include a cat, a frog and a couple of dogs.

Check out the list of previous winners below:

• 2023:  Crash the Rescue Cat 
• 2022: Annie Rose the Therapy Dog
• 2021: Betty the Frog 
• 2020: Lieutenant Dan the Treeing Walker Coonhound
• 2019: Henri the English Bulldog

"We're thrilled that Louie has been chosen as the winner of this year's Cadbury Bunny Tryouts – we are longtime fans of the Cadbury brand and are honored to see Louie join the long legacy of incredible Cadbury Bunnies,” Arslan said in a statement. “Louie's TV debut in Cadbury's 2025 commercial can't come soon enough!"