Sometimes it takes a whisper to rise above the media noise — targeting consumers without a media budget takes engaging, viral creativity.

The challenge for Unilever’s brand, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, was to develop a new media initiative that would shake up consumers and generate buzz around the brand. Story created an innovative, entertaining brand experience that captivated consumers and compelled them to spread the word. This helped communicate the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter brand through viral marketing efforts.

Premise: Spraychel is the taste of the town and her fridge-mates either love her or hate her. She is framed for a crime she didn’t commit… all because of her extra buttery taste. Will her handsome lawyer, Cobbio, save her? Will our consumers solve the mystery in time to save our heroine?

Consumers were encouraged to play detective and help Detective McSpud find the person who framed Spraychel. By searching multiple areas of McSpud’s office, consumers found clues and were asked to figure out “Who Framed Spraychel?”

• 951,637 webisodes viewed (average length 1.9 minutes)
• Consumers spent a total of 1,966,397 minutes watching the webisodes
• Average length of time spent interacting with the site was 10 minutes
• Total of 12,000 MySpace friends