Ultimate Chargers/Unilever
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 18, 2007
PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Alison Kramer, 919-459-8157, [email protected]
What Would NASCAR Fans do for a Klondike® Bar?
Klondike is teaming up with eight Unilever sponsoring brands behind the Ultimate
Chargers and getting NASCAR fans charged about the classic American ice cream brand.
Englewood Cliffs, N.J- After being named by Unilever, USA as one of the nine official sponsors of the 2007 Ultimate Chargers NASCAR Busch Series program, Klondike has wasted no time in gaining the attention of NASCAR fans. The popular ice cream brand is quickly capitalizing on Unilever’s successful partnership through a national sweepstakes and ad campaign featuring primary driver Kasey Kahne.
“This is a great opportunity for Klondike to participate in a phenomenal NASCAR program that centers on our brand’s target audience,” said Julio Del Cioppo, director of marketing at Unilever Ice Cream. “And we are proud to be the first ice cream brand to sponsor a program of this kind.”
Klondike is the first official ice cream sponsor of NASCAR and this year it’s offering a national sweepstakes that will award one grand prize winner and guests a trip to attend the Daytona 500 in 2008.
Though Klondike is viewed as a well-known brand today, the company’s beginnings nearly a century ago are unlike what many would imagine. The popular ice cream treat can be traced back to Switzerland and the Isaly family who was known for their superior dairy products.
Klondike bars were created in the early 1900s by the Isaly family who owned and operated a dairy company out of Mansfield, Ohio and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Some suggest that Klondike got its name from the Klondike River located in Canada’s Yukon Territory and site of the 1890s Gold Rush.
A 1922 article claims that Klondike bars gained popularity when one of the Isaly sons gave Ohio Vindicator newspaper staff several to try. By the 1940s, the family was running seven dairy plants and producing bars for nearly 300 Isaly Dairy Stores. They probably never imagined their well-liked Klondike bar would grow to be a major sponsor in the NASCAR Busch Series, the second most popular form of motor sports in the U.S.
Until the late 1970s, the bars were only sold in Pennsylvania and Ohio, but by the early
1980s, a national campaign was launched and Klondike could be found in nearly every supermarket nationwide. The popular slogan “What would you do for a Klondike bar?” was seen and heard everywhere. In 1993, Unilever gained ownership of the Isaly Klondike Company and joined the brand with Good Humor-Breyers Ice Cream Company.
Continued success for the Klondike bar is definite and many will be taking notice of its famous polar bear logo at the tracks this NASCAR season. “Our Ultimate Chargers drivers are strong and we want our sponsoring brands to uphold the strength of the team,” said Ray Evernham, Team Owner and CEO of Evernham Motorsports. “Klondike is a perfect addition to the list of other sponsoring brands and the additional backing helps our drivers get pumped on and off the track.”
So what would NASCAR fans do for a Klondike Bar? They would cheer Kasey Kahne behind the No.9 Ultimate Chargers Dodge and all scream for Klondike ice cream bars.
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To enter to win a trip to the 2008 Daytona 500 and to learn more about Klondike visit:
http://www.icecreamusa.com/klondike
Visit www.ultimatechargers.com to access behind-the-scene photos, special offers and great tailgating recipes.
About Unilever
Unilever [NYSE: UL, UN], one of the world’s largest consumer products companies, aims to add vitality to life by meeting everyday needs for nutrition, hygiene and personal care. Each day, around the world, consumers make 150 million decisions to purchase Unilever products. The company has a portfolio of brands that make people feel good, look good and get more out of life.
In the United States these brands include recognized names such as: Axe, “all,” Ben & Jerry’s, Bertolli, Breyers, Caress, Country Crock, Degree, Dove personal care products, Hellmann’s, Lipton, Knorr, Popsicle, Promise, Q-Tips, Skippy, Slim-Fast, Snuggle, Suave, Sunsilk and Vaseline. All of the preceding brand names are registered trademarks of the Unilever Group of Companies. Dedicated to serving consumers and the communities where we live, work and play, Unilever in the United States employs approximately 15,000 people in 66 office and manufacturing sites in 24 states and Puerto Rico– generating more than $9 billion in sales in 2005. For more information visit www.unileverusa.com
Unilever North American Ice Cream, headquartered in Green Bay, Wis., is the largest manufacturer and marketer of branded packaged ice cream and frozen novelties in the United States.
Unilever [NYSE: UL, UN], one of the world’s largest consumer products companies, aims to add vitality to life by meeting everyday needs for nutrition, hygiene and personal care. Each day, around the world, consumers make 150 million decisions to purchase Unilever products. The company has a portfolio of brands that make people feel good, look good and get more out of life.
In the United States these brands include recognized names such as: Axe, “all,” Ben & Jerry’s, Bertolli, Breyers, Caress, Country Crock, Degree, Dove personal care products, Hellmann’s, Lipton, Knorr, Popsicle, Promise, Q-Tips, Skippy, Slim-Fast, Snuggle, Suave, Sunsilk and Vaseline. All of the preceding brand names are registered trademarks of the Unilever Group of Companies. Dedicated to serving consumers and the communities where we live, work and play, Unilever in the United States employs approximately 15,000 people in 66 office and manufacturing sites in 24 states and Puerto Rico– generating more than $9 billion in sales in 2005. For more information visit www.unileverusa.com
Unilever North American Ice Cream, headquartered in Green Bay, Wis., is the largest manufacturer and marketer of branded packaged ice cream and frozen novelties in the United States.
