- Elaine Wong, Brandweek

NEW YORK Unilever gave its Klondike bars an extra drizzle, and it’s turned to Facebook and digital and social media to get the word out.

Called “What Would You Do For a Klondike Bar Now?,” the campaign, via Story Worldwide, N.Y. and Mindshare Entertainment, promotes six varieties of Klondike, which are now available in a 25 percent thicker chocolate shell. They include: Original, Krunch, Double Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Neapolitan and Whitehouse Cherry.

The brand’s Web site, Klondikebar.com, was also revamped as part of the effort. It shows a kitchen freezer, which site visitors can zoom into by clicking on it. “Dude, you won’t believe it, this freezer is packed,” a Post-it note on the fridge says. It then opens up to reveal the different Klondike bars, as well as nutritional information.

A separate application, dubbed “The Man Cave” is “coming soon,” the site hints. The "cave" consists of a virtual entertainment center where consumers can watch “Man on the Street”-type videos on a TV set, access a Facebook application via a laptop, and play a video game on a console.

The video game component appeals to the brand’s sweet spot: men ages 25 to 45, per the company. The game takes players through a series of “hilarious obstacles” in the main character’s quest to snag a Klondike bar.

To emphasize the new varieties, a Facebook application launching next month will allow users to test the thickness of their friends’ “shells” by putting them in the hot seat.

The promotion follows last summer’s “What Would You Do for a Klondike Bar?” online video submission contest. Unilever spent $11 million advertising Klondike in 2008, excluding online, per Nielsen.

Source: Brandweek.com