Continental launches new ‘Love at First Taste’ global campaign via MullenLowe, London

Continental has launched its new global campaign ‘Love at First Taste’ via MullenLowe, London.

The campaign combines a thought provoking film with an interactive tool that provides an innovative platform to celebrate our shared love of food and encourage discovery around flavour preferences, all backed by an online global research project. To inform the campaign, Unilever asked 12,000 people in 12 countries what flavour means to them, to get a genuine understanding of the crucial role it plays in everyday life.

VIEW THE FILM

One of the key findings of Unilever’s research was that over 3 in 4 people (78%) are more likely to be attracted to someone who enjoys the same flavours. To test this theory, Continental conducted a social experiment with a twist – pairing complete strangers on a surprisingly intimate first date. The couples were matched only by their love of the same flavours, discovered using the Continental Flavour Profiler, to see if a shared passion for certain tastes would create chemistry between the couples.

The results of the experiment were captured in Continental’s Love At First Taste film, directed by Tatia Pilieva, the director behind viral sensation ‘First Kiss’ which won a Gold Lion at Cannes in 2014.

This campaign is part of a wider drive to develop a more contemporary approach to communicate with Continental’s consumers and sees the launch of a new brand evolution for one of Unilever’s largest brands. Continental is targeting this new generation of food-obsessives who see social media as the place to share recipes, pick up tips from bloggers and vloggers, upload #foodporn dishes onto Instagram and share their foodie discoveries.

Says Katja Thies, marketing director at Unilever: “There has never been a better time to be a food brand. Continental are taking a lead in this exciting moment, where food culture really has become pop culture, where chefs are the new celebrities and foodie bloggers can pull in millions of followers. It is at the heart of everything we do at Continental and we are delighted we share our passion with so many around the world. Our provocation to consider flavour in the quest to connect with others is a fun way to put its importance to the ultimate test.”

Says Tom Hudson, global creative director, MullenLowe: “In a world where millions of people are searching for love, flavour is the part of your personal profile that everyone’s ignored, until now. Imagine going on a date with someone not because of the way they looked, but because of the flavours you had in common. We tried it and watched personalities come alive and connections sizzle. There is no question after this, flavour is more powerful than you think.”

Based on the insatiable desire that people have to learn more about themselves and share this expression of their individuality with their friends via social media, Continental has also created an innovative Flavour Profiler, leveraging cognitive intelligence, which will sit on the Continental Love at First Taste site and serve up tailored recipe recommendations. This bespoke tool provides consumers with a new and different way to learn more about themselves by discovering which of the 12 flavour profiles they are: Salty Adventurer; Roasted Romantic; Gracious Grazer; Tangy Dynamo; Meaty Warrior; Spicy Rebel; Sweet Seeker; Deep Sea Dreamer; Rustic Ranger; Earthy Idealist; Mustard Maverick or Melty Indulger.

Client Name: Continental, Unilever

Audio Post Production – Nathan Dubin at Margarit Mix