Pillsbury’s New Brand Campaign Hits “Home”

During tough economic times, “Home is Calling” reminds people of the warmth, comfort and power of home in major brand equity campaign launching this week

General Mills (NYSE: GIS) announced today that it launched a major brand equity campaign for Pillsbury in time for the holiday season, drawing upon the appeal of “home” for a national campaign hitting network and cable television, cinema, radio, newspaper, online, and out-of-home this week.

“Home Is Calling,” the first major brand equity campaign for Pillsbury since 2001, delivers a message of warmth and comfort in a modern world, tying the love, simplicity and family time of home with the irresistible aromas of freshly baked Pillsbury food that draws families together. The theme of the filmed spots, produced by Saatchi & Saatchi, New York, is that throughout the day, people find themselves thinking about the warmth of home and looking forward to going home and reconnecting with loved ones.

The “Home Is Calling” campaign includes :60, :30, and :15 spots, portraying real-life situations that are relevant in a modern world. Images include a businessman on a city street, a young woman at a train station, a boy in a library, a worker in a factory, and a girl outside an elementary school—all bonded by the thought of the warmth and aroma of something irresistibly warm and delicious baking at home. The iconic Pillsbury Doughboy serves as a behind-the-scenes helper at the end of the spots, bringing people together and serving as the visual reminder of the quality, warmth and simplicity Pillsbury products provide.

“Pillsbury has always been about bringing people together with irresistible baked goods, and the Home Is Calling campaign is grounded in those core values and builds on the strong emotional connection we’ve built with our consumers,” said Juliana Chugg, Senior Vice President, President of the Pillsbury division at General Mills. “In this tough economy, people are telling us that home and family are more important than ever. They are staying in and eating at home more often and want it to be a positive experience, not a sacrifice.”

The Pillsbury “Home Is Calling” campaign will debut in select movie theaters nationwide during the opening weeks of High School Musical 3 and Madagascar 2, and online at www.pillsbury.com beginning October 29 before launching on national television (network, cable, and television specials), online (including Yahoo!), and in newspapers. The campaign will also be featured on radio and via a full public relations program.

Additionally, “Home Is Calling” will speak to consumers throughout Minneapolis, the hometown of General Mills, via out-of-home advertising at their ‘point of longing.’ Out-of-home elements include local billboards on major highways, advertising in the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and in the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper.

Pillsbury is also encouraging people to share the warmth of home this holiday season by helping stock America’s food banks. Consumers can view the new Home Is Calling advertisement on www.pillsbury.com and forward a link to the ad to a friend. Every time the link is forwarded from the web site, Pillsbury will donate to help Feeding America deliver more than one pound of groceries to food banks nationwide.

“Our goal is to help deliver more than a quarter of a million pounds of groceries to help Feeding America during these trying economic times with our viral campaign,” Chugg added.

For more information on the campaign or to view “Home Is Calling,” please visit www.pillsbury.com.

About General Mills
One of the world’s leading food companies, General Mills operates in over 100 countries and markets more than 100 consumer brands, including Cheerios, Haagen-Dazs, Nature Valley, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Green Giant, Old El Paso, Progresso, Cascadian Farm, Muir Glen, and more. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A., General Mills had FY2008 global net sales of US$ 14.9 billion, including the company’s $1.2 billion proportionate share of joint venture net sales. Log on to www.generalmills.com for company information.

About Pillsbury
For more than 130 years, families have trusted Pillsbury to make mealtimes special times. Favorite Pillsbury products include refrigerated cookies, crescent dinner rolls, breads, biscuits, pie crusts and sweet rolls as well as frozen biscuits, breads, rolls, pie crusts and breakfast items. For product information and great-tasting recipes, visit www.pillsbury.com.

About Feeding America (Formerly America’s Second Harvest-The Nation’s Food Bank Network)
Feeding America provides individuals and families facing hunger with the fuel to survive and even thrive. As the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief charity, our network members supply food to more than 25 million Americans each year, including 9 million children and 3 million seniors. Serving the entire United States, more than 200 member food banks operate 63,000 agencies that address hunger through emergency food assistance and programs. For more information on how you can fight hunger in your community and across the country, visit www.feedingamerica.org.