Gone are the days when actresses like Raquel Welch and Cher were hired to hawk sugar substitute Equal. Now it’s recording artist Casper and a remake of his “Cha-Cha Slide” that folks at Chicago-based Merisant Co. hope can rebrand the sweetener and change the perception that it’s something only used in beverages.
In a major repositioning of the sweetener category’s biggest name, Merisant unleashes a new campaign that tries to nudge consumers to expand their use of the no-calorie sweetener.
A 60-second spot from Young & Rubicam that begins running this week in roughly 30 markets, including Chicago, shows people quietly doing their morning routine in a streetside cafe. Then suddenly, the “blue crew” arrives to liven up the cafe by spreading Equal on a number of different foods, including cereal and in smoothies.
The cafe is then up on its feet, dancing to Casper’s modified “Cha-Cha Slide.”
The idea, according to Merisant executives, is to show that Equal, which in the past has been geared to women, can be used in more versatile ways.
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As such, the new campaign, which will also begin running in magazines in July, maintains its original tagline “Great Taste, 0 Calories.” But it now adds a secondary line: “Try some, and you’ll understand.”
“The intent is to disrupt perceptions of the brand around taste and relevancy,” said Dan Beck, vice president, general manager for Merisant North America. “The perception that it’s primarily for people on diets.”
The print campaign, which uses headlines like “You can find it in the best coffeehouses. Can you find it in your kitchen?” will run in magazines such as Redbook, O, Country Living, Family Circle and Midwest Living.
So far, the campaign is a test. The plan is to see if the work can change perceptions of the sweetener to determine whether a further push will be needed. Other sweeteners, such as Splenda, also have pushed multiple uses in its marketing.
The brand repositioning is a big step for Merisant, which bought Equal from Monsanto in 2000 for $570 million.
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