Lipton® Brews New Marketing To Make Hot Tea Cool

"Uplift Your Day" Campaign Features First TV Ad for Black Tea Since 1989

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Jan 10, 2013, 09:00 ET

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., Jan. 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Lipton®, the pioneer and innovator of tea for over a century, is putting the spotlight on their iconic black tea to encourage consumers to "Drink Positive" in 2013. As part of this effort, the brand today unveiled a new national advertising campaign for its classic black tea, a first in over 20 years. The multi-channel campaign includes television, digital, in store, social, public relations and a worldwide contest on Instagram.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130110/DC40342 )

Since being first introduced by Sir Thomas Lipton in 1879, Lipton black tea has shaped and defined the tea category. And while tea enthusiasts are trying new varieties and flavors, black tea continues to be at the forefront, owning eighty-five percent of all consumption, followed by green (14%), oolong and white teas.[1] "With approximately half of the American population drinking tea[2] on a daily basis, we saw a fit for today's lifestyle with the leaf that started it all," said Alfie Vivian, VP Refreshments, Unilever North America.

The new black tea campaign was created to give new and loyal consumers an uplifting reason to go back to basics and drink black tea on more than just an occasional basis. Lipton's new 15-second spot, airing on network and cable TV, shows black tea as providing that uplifting moment amidst hectic, daily lives. This is all captured perfectly in the tagline: Drink Lipton and you'll be surprised at how great you feel.

This surprisingly great feeling is supported by research that shows how black tea's hydrating benefits and natural caffeine provide a gentle boost to help consumers stay energized throughout the day.[3] This is especially crucial for today's hectic consumers, who are time-stretched and stressed. In fact, sixty-nine percent of U.S. employees report that work is a significant source of stress and more than half of adults report that family responsibilities are a significant source of stress.[4]

"A daily Lipton tea break is something good we can all do for ourselves to give us that moment to de-stress, refresh and refocus within our hectic lifestyles," stated Vivian. "Lipton tea can help you feel great any time, which is why we are encouraging consumers to make tea drinking a daily habit."

Lipton is also uplifting the tea shopping experience with new packaging that features a more vibrant "Lipton Yellow" to make the pack easier to find on shelf. Inside the box, Lipton now adds fresh pressed tea leaves to its new great tasting blend so consumers can enjoy their tea experience from the very first sip.

Additionally, the brand is inviting fans to share their uplifting moments in 2013. Lipton is launching a global photo challenge, where people around the world can creatively and visually share the uplifting benefits of tea via Instagram. Participating countries include Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Pakistan, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the United States. "The #Liptagram global photo challenge is the first for the brand and we are thrilled to get our passionate tea fans worldwide to create these one-of-a-kind images through Instagram and see Lipton through a different lens," said Vivian.

From February 4^th through March 2^nd, consumers can upload images through Instagram, the world's largest photo sharing application, based on inspirational weekly keywords, including uplifting, excitement, spontaneous and brightness, and tag the image with #Lipton. All images[5] will be automatically uploaded into a dedicated application on Facebook.com/Lipton. One grand prize winner will win an all-expense paid trip to Kenya for two, to visit Lipton's Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates[6]. Twelve additional winners, who will be identified throughout the course of the challenge, will each receive a tablet.

For more information about Lipton offerings, please visit Facebook.com/Lipton.

About Lipton 

With more than 100 years of experience, Lipton is one of the world's great refreshment brands, with tea-based drinks including leaf tea, infusions, and ready-to-drink iced tea. For more information on Lipton, please visit Facebook.com/Lipton, Facebook.com/LiptonIcedTea or LiptonT.com.

About Unilever North America

Unilever is one of the world's leading suppliers of fast moving consumer goods with strong operations in more than 100 countries and sales in 190. Consumers buy 170 billion Unilever packs around the world every year, and our products are used over two billion times a day. In the United States and Canada the portfolio includes brand icons such as: Axe, Becel, Ben & Jerry's, Bertolli, Breyers, Caress, Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy, Consort For Men, Country Crock, Degree, Dove personal care products, Good Humor, Hellmann's, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!, Just for Me!, Klondike, Knorr, Lever 2000, Lipton, Magnum, Motions, Nexxus, Noxzema, Pond's, Popsicle, Promise, Q-tips, Ragu, Simple, Skippy, Slim-Fast, Soft & Beautiful, St. Ives, Suave, tcb, TIGI, TRESemme, Vaseline, and Wish-Bone. All of the preceding brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Unilever Group of Companies.

Our ambition is to double the size of our business, while reducing our overall environmental impact (including sourcing, consumer use and disposal). We are also committed to doing what we can to improve health, nutrition and hygiene, with goals to help more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being, as well as to source all our agricultural raw materials sustainably by 2020. Supporting our three big goals are more than 50 time-based targets in the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan.

Unilever employs more than 13,000 people across North America – generating over $9 billion in sales in 2011. For more information visit www.unileverusa.com or www.unilever.ca.

Contact:
Ying Lee
[email protected]
212-299-8994

[1] The Tea Association of the USA

[2] The Tea Association of the USA

[3] Henning et al. 1997, Quinlan et al. 2000, De Bruin et al. 2011

[4] American Psychological Association, 2009

[5] Reviewed and approved by contest company

[6] Trip will include 4-night hotel accommodations, tea estates tour for two, a game drive safari for two and a digital camera

SOURCE Lipton