Unilever is to spend millions of pounds having a laugh with Lipton Ice Tea for a second year.
A £3.5m spend is headed by a new TV ads set to run until September which follow the success of last year’s ‘Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it’ push.
The 40-second ad, called ‘Give it another go’, once again plays on the brand’s uncool image. Opening with a girl chatting to a friend, she opens the fridge, inadvertently picks up a bottle of Lipton Ice Tea and then to her own surprise really enjoys it.
The action then moves to a series of scenes in which Lipton Ice Tea drinkers demonstrate
their open-mindedness and adventurous spirit.
Filmed to the dulcet voiceover tones of Des Lynam, the ad shows one lad proudly walking down the street in a black and white spandex outfit, a female office worker lifting her arms to display a large amount of underarm hair and a young man squealing in agony as a wax strip is ripped from a particularly sensitive body part.
A 30-second version is also being shown, while the full-length treatment will hit cinema screens from the start of next month. Sampling and instore promotions are also planned.
Brand manager Oliver Bradley said Unilever was expecting further leverage for the brand after last year’s campaign helped to almost triple volume sales.
“Our overall aim is to encourage trial,” said Bradley. “In 2002 Lipton Ice Tea was one of the world’s biggest selling soft drinks brands but was still relatively unknown in the UK.”
Simon Mowbray