Pressroom

Colle+McVoy Launches First-Ever Television Spot For Caribou Coffee

Posted 11/12/2009

New campaign focuses on uniquely reformulated, gourmet chocolate drinks

MINNEAPOLIS, Nov. 12, 2009 – Gourmet chocolate deserves to be revered, which is why Caribou Coffee, the second-largest gourmet coffeehouse operator in the world, is launching its first-ever television campaign to promote the decadence and deliciousness of its new reformulated chocolate drinks.

"This is the first of several significant and exciting product introductions at Caribou Coffee and we’re the first coffeehouse operator to reformulate all of our mochas and chocolate beverages using real, all-natural chocolate," said Caribou Coffee senior vice president of marketing Alfredo Martel. "We wanted to use a high-awareness vehicle like television to be certain that consumers knew what a big deal this is for the brand and what a wonderful impact it will have on their daily chocolate drink order."

Breaking today (Nov. 12), the 30-second spot titled "Get Real: Chocolate" features a couple of pretentious male and female marionettes having a shallow conversation in a mall when a scrumptious-looking Caribou Coffee mocha drink stops them in mid-sentence. They are unhappy to learn they can’t drink Caribou Coffee because they are "not real."

"The marionettes are a fun, lighthearted way to drive home the point that Caribou Coffee uses real ingredients,” said Eric Husband, group creative director, Colle+McVoy. "But it goes beyond ingredients. Walk into any Caribou Coffee and there’s this very real, genuine vibe—it’s what separates them from competitors. We wanted to convey this authenticity of the Caribou Coffee brand."

The spot will run for six weeks on cable stations in Caribou Coffee’s six primary markets across the United States, as well as online via CaribouCoffee.com and YouTube.com. The campaign also features a 15-second announcer-read radio spot that supports Caribou Coffee’s "Happy Mondays" in-store promotion with a $2 mocha offer. Online banner ads running in eight markets (without television support) challenge people to play a game to "find the real chocolate" under three rotating cups. If they win, they receive a coupon for a $1 off a beverage from Caribou Coffee.

Beginning Nov. 12, Caribou Coffee guests can have their mochas, chocolate lattes, hot chocolates, specialty beverages and cold beverages made with either white, milk or dark Guittard® chocolate at all Caribou Coffee locations nationwide. Caribou Coffee team members will steam real pieces of the premium chocolate into milk to make the handcrafted hot beverages such as mochas, chocolate lattes and hot chocolates. This reformulation marks a major difference from other coffeehouse operators because almost all coffeehouses, including the major coffeehouse chains, use reconstituted chocolate syrup or processed powder to create their hot and cold chocolate beverages. The white, milk and dark Guittard chocolate are all-natural, kosher and gluten-free, and none contain more than six ingredients.