Inconceivable! Culligan Man Takes Backseat to Cary Elwes of 'Princess Bride' in Golden Globes Ad

Fallon Debuts Brand's First National Campaign in More Than 50 Years

Published On
Jan 05, 2018

Description

Culligan is moving beyond its Culligan Man roots with a new ad campaign, tagline and branding aimed at attracting younger homeowners for their water needs. The Rosemont, Illinois-based water filtration provider will debut a 30-second spot starring Cary Elwes in a "Princess Bride"-themed message at Sunday's Golden Globes award show. This is Culligan's first national campaign in more than half-a-century, and also its first work from Fallon, which it named agency-of-record last summer.

In the new spot, Elwes gives a nod to his role as Westley in the 31-year-old cult-classic "Princess Bride" as he performs fatherly duties for his young daughter, giving her noodles, drawing a bath and making ice cubes. He utters, "As you wish," after each demand. At the end of the commercial, Elwes extols the virtues of his Culligan-filtrated water to a neighbor, who exclaims, "Inconceivable!"

"Water's hot and Culligan has great awareness, but research showed the newer generation of homeowners don't have the same awareness of everything we do as a brand," explains Larry Holzman, senior VP of Culligan North American Franchise. The new work introduces the tagline, "You Could Give Your People Culligan Water." The company is also promoting its name as Culligan Water, rather than just Culligan. While the Culligan Man, which was first developed as an advertising vehicle in the late-50s, some two decades after the company was founded, may still be used by individual franchise dealers, the national campaign will focus on the new messaging.

The campaign is funded by franchisees, of which there are nearly 620, and the corporate office. In total, the budget for the push is around $50 million.

In addition to the "Princess Bride" spot, which also will air after the Golden Globes on a select basis, Culligan will air a series of spots promoting the importance of treating water for modern family lifestyles. Elwes is providing the voiceover for all additional commercials. In total, Culligan is airing two 30-second spots and five 15-second spots on TV along with a robust selection of digital and social offerings.

"The core campaign is actually more evergreen," says Holzman, noting that the "Princess Bride" spot serves as a kickstarter to reintroduce the brand to younger customers.

The company is also pushing a social campaign tied to the hashtag #AsYouWish and has created, with Fallon, a custom Alexa Skill for the first time. If consumers ask their Echo a question about Culligan, she will start the answer with, "As you wish."

Minneapolis, Minnesota-based Fallon also handled media duties for the new campaign.

Credits

Date
Jan 05, 2018
Agency :
Fallon
Brand :
Culligan
Client :
Culligan
Chief Creative Officer :
Jeff Kling
Creative Director :
Jason Bottenus
Creative Director :
Rick Utzinger
Copywriter :
Megan Winterhalter
Art Director :
Steph Hayden
Director, Production :
Andrew Koningen
Managing Director :
Rocky Novak
Business Lead :
Jordan Hoffarber
Account Manager :
Profit Idowu
Group Planning Director :
Erin Tait
Production Company :
Somesuch
Director :
Abteen Bagheri
Founding Partner :
Tim Nash
Executive Producer :
Tim Nash
Executive Producer :
Nicky Barnes
Managing Director :
Eric Rasco
Head of Production :
Kerry Haynie
Producer :
Mark Berger
Director, Photography :
Isaac Bauman
Editorial :
Arcade Edit
Managing Partner :
Damian Stevens
Executive Producer :
Crissy DeSimone
Head of Production :
Kirsten Thon-Webb
Editor :
Paul Martinez
Editor :
Will Hasell
Assistant Editor :
Andy Trecki
Producer :
Alexa Atkin
Animation :
Timber
Creative Director :
Jonah Hall
Creative Director :
Kevin Lau
Partner :
Kevin Lau
Partner :
Jonah Hall
Executive Producer :
Sabrina Elizondo
Head of Production :
Melody Alexander
Producer :
Emily Avoujageli
Lead Flame Artist :
Chris DeCristo
Flame Artist :
Chris Homel
Flame Assistant :
Brack Hightchew
Flame Assistant :
Brandon Harden
Art Director :
Jon Lorenz
Animation :
Daniel Zhang
Animation :
Yosh Bolivar
Sound Director :
Lime Studios
Sound Design :
Michael Anastasi
Assistant Sound Designer :
Kai Paquin
Mixer :
Loren Silber
Executive Producer :
Susie Boyajan

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Project Type