Case Study for Agency
03-1013278-077

Situation
Shell egg consumption in California had declined every year for a
decade, with current consumption down 102 million eggs vs. ten years
prior (-12.8%.) Recent research found that although nearly every
household has eggs in the refrigerator, consumers rarely think about
them. Lastly, the client’s relatively modest advertising budget had
proven inadequate in the past to reverse these trends.

Marketing Challenge

1. Reawaken consumer interest in eggs and communicate the many
compelling positive attributes of eggs as a delicious,
convenient and nutritious food.

2. Arrest the decline in egg consumption and create a foundation
for future growth.

Application of Solutions
Our creative solution employed the comedic genius of Jonathan Winters
for our TV campaign. But our creative concept went far beyond simply
hiring a celebrity spokesperson. The commercials were built around Mr.
Winters’ unique style of improvisational comedy, using it as a device
to create viewer interest and involvement in our message.

We conducted several input sessions with Jonathan, during which we
familiarized him with the key copy points for our commercials. Then, on
the day of the shoot, we presented Jonathan with characters, situations
and props from which he created hilarious improvisational performances
that dealt with the nutritional value, versatility and great taste of
eggs. After extensive post-production editing, we created four spots
that captured Jonathan’s improvisational style while also effectively
delivering our key copy points.

These commercials are "Classic Winters." They’re zany, unpredictable,
and a delight to watch time after time. More importantly, they’re
packed with many compelling reasons for consumers to choose and use
eggs more frequently in their diet.

We also secured substantial additional national exposure of the
campaign at no cost:

o Inclusion of the new spots in A&E Network’s nationally
broadcast biography of Jonathan Winters.

o Extensive use of out-takes from the commercial shoot on Dick
Clark’s TV Bloopers, which aired nationally on NBC.

o A guest appearance by Jonathan on The Tonight Show, during
which Jay Leno featured portions of our spots and Jonathan
talked about his work on behalf of California Fresh Eggs.

This national coverage reached 15 million households and had a
commercial value well in excess of 500,000, all at no cost to the CEC.

Results
The campaign has been judged a huge success. The Client’s Annual
Consumer Tracking Study identified dramatic improvements in consumer
attitudes toward eggs and in awareness of our campaign, with recall
almost doubling that of the previously campaign.

More importantly, for the first time in ten years, egg consumption
increased a dramatic 3.0% over the prior year (vs. only 1.2% increase
for the rest of the nation.) This equals more than 171 million
additional eggs, with a retail value of over 20 million.

The campaign was honored with an "Effie Award," which is considered by
many to be the most prestigious advertising award in the United States.
It recognizes advertising that combines creative excellence with
superior, quantifiable results. Effie winners are typically the
largest, best-respected advertisers in the country.