How do you keep a 99 cent food product, which hasn’t changed in decades, top of mind with a fickle consumer base obsessed with pop culture and entertainment? You make a movie! With an original movie produced by and all about the favourite peanut-buttery treat, Butterfinger the 13th would go where no candy bar — or studio — had gone before, drawing in a celebrity director, media partners, as well as old and new fans alike.

Together with Nestlé USA, the agency devised a first-of-its-kind PR campaign that generated media attention at every phase of production from script to silver screen, and starring none-other-than the beloved iconic candy bar, Butterfinger. With the brand’s tagline 'Nobody’s Gonna Lay A Finger On My Butterfinger!' as inspiration for the film, Butterfinger the 13th became one of the most talked-about marketing and movie projects of the summer, even securing buzz at one of the biggest pop culture events of the year, Comic-Con International, and attracting digital media partner Sony Pictures Television.

Overall, the Butterfinger the 13th campaign reached more than 750m impressions. News of the unconventional film, combined with its celebrity director Rob Lowe, elevated the Butterfinger Facebook fan base to more than 1,000,000 fans/likes, and even pushed the movie’s behind-the-scenes videos to the top of the online viral charts – leaving Butterfinger with increased sales and fans only screaming for more.

On May 13, the agency announced the film and debuted its star director. Comic-Con International was next – to promote the film and film a key scene involving fans. Prior to arriving at Comic-Con, Butterfinger made light of its fellow projects by announcing that a movie-star 'Rob' would be 'filming at twilight'. With film Twilight as the media star of Comic-Con, the tactic propelled Butterfinger's SEO (capitalising on searches of Rob Pattinson). As a result, producers at Summit Entertainment invited Butterfinger to sponsor the official Twilight party at Comic-Con. In addition to filming a real movie starring Butterfinger and directed by Rob Lowe, the agency secured interviews with Lowe to discuss the project on Access Hollywood, Extra TV, and CNN.All this talk of Butterfinger caught the attention of NCM Studios, who signed on to showcase the film on the big screen. Finally, Lowe promoted the film on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Butterfinger’s core consumer, and during a satellite media tour.

During the film’s promotional period of May 13 to October 13, Butterfinger the 13th earned more than 750m impressions, surpassing the agency’s goals by more than 400%. The movie’s behind-the-scenes vignettes received nearly 500,000 views. The brand’s Facebook page also experienced a 15% increase in fans during the campaign. Within 48 hours of the film announcement, Butterfinger the 13th drew its first 100m impressions, including coverage from Entertainment Tonight, MTV.com, Entertainment Weekly, and other entertainment/movie trade outlets. Press outreach efforts during the first 2 months of the campaign resulted in features with USA Today, Access Hollywood, EXTRA and CNN, and others. Comic-Con efforts resulted in nearly half a billion impressions. On October 13, Butterfinger the 13th premièred at 700 theatres nationwide with its trailer appearing on more than 7,000 screens. Overall, the 'Butterfinger the 13th' campaign reached more than 750m* impressions, and sales of Butterfinger jumped more than 6%** during this period versus the previous year.* No multipliers used in figures** Source: AC/Nielsen (Nielsen Consumption 4COT)