The forlorn salt shaker spokes-character for Unilever‘s Knorr Sidekicks is back in viral form, though his luck has not improved.
Salty, as the animated character is known, first appeared in a television ad last August. After noticing that a Sidekicks package says “25% Less Sodium,” Salty realizes he’s no longer wanted and leaves his comfy dinner table, dejected, to face exile in the dark and rainy streets.
Created as a forth-quarter campaign to promote Sidekick’s sodium-reduced products, Salty’s grainy tears proved a hit with consumers.
“It [tested] really strong,” said Andrew Simon, senior-vice president and creative director at DDB Canada, the agency behind the campaign. “The work we tested was through the roof, everything from engagement to effectiveness.”
Shirley Chanyi, brand building manager for Sidekicks and the Knorr master brand, said there was an 8% uptick in Sidekick’s dollar volume growth during the campaign.
Moreover, she said, consumers frequently posted loving comments about Salty on the ad’s YouTube pages.
“That was why we decided to carry forward in the social media space,” Chanyi said. “Because that was naturally happening already.”
To build on consumer response, DDB has created two new online videos that further Salty’s story. One called “Brace” shows an unfortunate accident at a diner, while “Dating” shows the results of his attempt to find someone online.
The new virals were produced by Sons & Daughters and directed by David Hicks, who makes a cameo in “Brace.”
The spots are already posted to YouTube and DDB hopes the videos will be shared through social media.
“You always want the biggest idea possible that extends the conversation with consumers,” Simon said of the Salty character. “When we hit on [Salty], it felt like it had the ability to do that… In our heads, we thought of Salty as a continuing story.”
Unilever is also making Salty and his partner Pep available as real shakers in a national giveaway promotion. “There’s been lots of calls to our call centre asking where people can get these,” Chanyi said. Print ads currently in market promote the limited time giveaway to those who buy three Sidekick products.
“On the shaker itself is a neck tag that says ‘Use me sparingly,'” said Chanyi. “We’re trying to get people to lower their sodium, so we’re also encouraging people to fill it with other spices… It’s important to keep consistent with that message.”
Unilever plans for all Sidekicks SKUs to have reduced sodium and the “25% less” packaging by the end of 2010.
