Unilever: "Now We Know Better"

HEADNOTE

Multi-channel ad campaign combines TV commercials with online game show and sweepstakes.

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I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S NOT BUTTER!, a brand of Unilever, Engelwood Cliffs, NJ., has launched an aggressive

multichannel awareness campaign titled "Now We Know Better." The campaign is designed to communicate that consumers don't have to give up fresh butter taste to live a healthy lifestyle, and showcases how we have progressed through the decades by poking fun at the things in the past we now know better about - everything from sunbathing to slathering butter on our food. It features nostalgic commercials reminiscent of TV's golden age, starring a fictional family, the Buttertons, who use entire sticks of butter on their vegetables.

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Along with TV ads playing on numerous channels, including ABC, NBC, FOX and TBS, the campaign includes an online "Now You Know Better $1,000,000 Game Show" hosted by celebrity John O'Hurley, and live play cameos of a group of celebrities who admit to now knowing better.

The campaign reminds consumers that butter is not a healthy option because it has saturated fats, cholesterol, and trans fats, and that I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! spread is made with a blend of nutritious oils and is a good source of Omega 3 ALA.

Associate brand manager Naomi Cohen says, "We are educating consumers about the health concerns of saturated fats and cholesterol in butter and the benefits of using 'I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!' The flashback to the naïveté of previous decades combined with the integration of celebrities in our campaign will capture consumer attention and engage them in our health messages."

The national broadcast advertising portion of the campaign kicked off in January with a 30-second television spot featuring the Buttertons, throwbacks to a time when families used to glob butter on everything they ate. The family then transitions to present when we "know better" and reminds consumers that I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! is the better choice. Select spots will also include a tag that features John O'Hurley and promotes the Now You Know Better $1,000,000 Game Show.

By playing the online game atwww.NowYouKnowBetter.com, consumers can receive instant win prizes. From January 14 to March 31, players can compete against up to four other players online, with John O'Hurley as their host. Contestants can also select an animated online personality and screen name and hold real-time chats with other contestants. Players answer a variety of trivia questions dating back to the '50s, and a five-round matching quiz tests their mettle on topics ranging from U.S. history to fashion to movies, health and literature.

O'Hurley's character introduces each round and spices it up with witty and decade-appropriate commentary such as, "fo' shizzle my nizzle," or "you're cruisin' for a bruisin'." Players can enter the Finalist Sweepstakes Drawing up to five times per day.

The online game was developed in partnership with MSN, and will include banners at MSN.com. A featured special link in the Game section on MSN.com clicks through to the game at www.NowYouKnowBetter.com.

Celebrities like Gary Coleman and Dustin Diamond get in on the "know better" action through a series of public service announcement-style vignettes in which they confess their "Know Better" moment, like slugging a fan instead of giving an autograph or creating explicit bedroom videos. Consumers also have the chance to play the online game head-to-head against these celebrities and chat with them live.

In addition to the $1,000,000 grand prize, there are more than $40,000 in prizes up for grabs during the Sweepstakes, including spa weekend getaways, chefs aprons and premium kitchen equipment. The Web site also features recipes and instantprint coupons for I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!

The grand prize finalist will be selected randomly from among all eligible Finalist Sweepstakes Drawing entries received, and will win a four-day trip for two to New York to attend the Grand Prize Event, where he or she will play one more game to hopefully become the winner of the Grand Prize, to be awarded in the form of an annuity of $40,000 per year for 25 years.