If the Bees Disappear, So Does Ice Cream / HAAGEN DAZS "HD loves HB (Honey, Let's Lick the Problem)"

The problem

The phenomenon was called colony collapse disorder, and it was wiping out a third of bee colonies, hives and all. Nobody knew the cause. Haagen-Dazs had built its brand on being "all natural," but most of its ingredients depended on bees for pollination. The very foundation of the brand was at risk of disappearing.

The insight

Goodby Silverstein & Partners noticed that bloggers had started quietly raising the alarm about this issue. It was a rare perfect match between the essence of the brand and a real social problem: natural ice cream can only exist if the natural workers who make it possible are protected. And consumers could contribute simply by eating ice cream.

The idea

Under the name "HD loves HB," Haagen-Dazs donated research funding to universities and directed a portion of sales from a new flavor, Vanilla Honey Bee, toward that research. The magazine ads were designed so that if you tore them up and buried them in soil, flowers would grow. The brand director even testified before Congress. It was an unusually serious effort that blurred the line between advertising and genuine social action.

What happened

Within one week of launch, the campaign generated a full year's worth of media coverage, and ultimately more than doubled that target. Sales hit an all-time high, and the campaign won numerous awards, including from the One Show and Cannes Lions. The initiative continued for more than ten years.

Afterthought

An ice cream company testified before Congress, funded university research, and kept at it for more than a decade. They didn't do it to make money—they did it simply so the company could keep existing. And because of that honesty, the results followed naturally.

Awards

• Cannes Lions Gold 2009

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