Baby Carrots Go Hollywood With Bolthouse Farms' Partnership With Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment's Upcoming Live Action/CG-Animated Comedy Hop

Baby Carrots Go Hollywood With Bolthouse Farms' Partnership With Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment's Upcoming Live Action/CG-Animated Comedy Hop

BOLTHOUSE FARMS' BABY CARROTS NOW THE OFFICIAL SNACK OF THE EASTER BUNNY

BAKERSFIELD, Calif., April 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Bolthouse Farms' baby carrots are now the official snack of the Easter Bunny, it was announced today. The company has partnered with Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment's Hop, the new comedy from the creators of Despicable Me and the director of Alvin and the Chipmunks, which opened in theatres nationwide today.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110401/NY75730 )

Blending state of the art animation with live action, Hop is a comedy about E.B. (voiced by Russell Brand), the teenage son of the Easter Bunny. On the eve of taking over the family business, E.B. leaves for Hollywood in pursuit of his dream of becoming a drummer. He encounters Fred (James Marsden), an out-of-work slacker with his own lofty goals, who accidentally hits E.B. with his car. Feigning injury, E.B. manipulates Fred into providing him shelter, and Fred finds himself with the world's worst houseguest.

In recent months, Bolthouse Farms has undertaken a campaign, dubbed "Eat 'Em Like Junk Food," to position baby carrots as the ultimate junk food. The company has claimed baby carrots' rightful place in the snack world by playfully mocking junk food marketing tactics and by targeting prime junk-food-heavy moments on the national snacking calendar, such as Halloween and the football playoffs. Now, with the partnership with Hop, Bolthouse aims to show how baby carrots, which are orange, sweet, crunchy and convenient, represent the ideal movie-viewing snack. The Easter Bunny's first-ever product endorsement - made possible by Bolthouse Farms' willingness to "unabashedly sell out" - lends credibility to this effort.

"We were honored to be chosen by the Easter Bunny as his official snack," said Jeff Dunn, CEO of Bolthouse Farms. "He's a rabbit, so we were up against lettuce, dandelion leaves, celery and hay. We think he made a wise choice."

The "Eat 'Em Like Junk Food" campaign features playfully confrontational tactics that both emulate and mock junk food advertising. Campaign elements include new packaging and in-store initiatives, traditional TV and outdoor media, online and social media as well as school vending. The initial test effort kicked off in September 2010 in Syracuse, New York, and Cincinnati, Ohio, and has since garnered results exceeding the growers' expectations.

Many campaign assets may be viewed at babycarrots.com.

About Bolthouse Farms

Established in 1915, Bolthouse Farms is a fourth-generation farm located in California's fertile San Joaquin Valley. Known for quality and innovation, Bolthouse Farms is a market share leader in carrot growing and processing. In addition to growing and harvesting premium fresh vegetables and fruits, Bolthouse Farms produces a popular brand of super-premium refrigerated juices, smoothies and protein drinks. Bolthouse diversified its offerings in recent years by launching a line of all natural, premium refrigerated yogurt dressings and extra virgin olive oil vinaigrettes. To learn about the entire line of current Bolthouse Farms products, visit www.bolthouse.com.

About Hop

On the eve of taking over the family business, the teenage son of the Easter Bunny, E.B. (voiced by Russell Brand), leaves for Hollywood in pursuit of his dream of becoming a drummer. Once there, he encounters Fred (James Marsden), an out-of-work slacker with his own lofty goals. Feigning injury, E.B. manipulates Fred into providing him shelter, and Fred finds himself living with the world's worst houseguest.

Back on Easter Island, a power-hungry chick who has lived in the shadows for far too long has been plotting a coup to take over one of the biggest jobs in the world. Now that E.B.'s gone, he's got his chance. As E.B. discovers who he really wants to be and who he's meant to become, everything will lead him and Fred in an epic showdown to try and save Easter.

Marsden and Brand are joined in the film by Kaley Cuoco, Hank Azaria, Gary Cole, Elizabeth Perkins, Chelsea Handler and Hugh Laurie. www.iwantcandy.com

SOURCE Bolthouse Farms

Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110401/NY75730
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Bolthouse Farms

CONTACT: Kristin Hutton, +1-646-274-3623, khutton@hlgrp.com

Web Site: http://www.bolthouse.com

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