Unilever, Ford Among Sponsors of 'The Taste'

East Coast/West Coast versions of series accommodate regional branding

By Jon Lafayette -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/22/2013 1:01:06 PM

Unilever and Ford are among the key sponsors of ABC's new food competition series The Taste.

ABC and the show's producers, Kinetic Content, have also formed marketing partnerships with Williams-Sonoma, Whole Foods Market, Southwest Airlines and Alamos.

Many of the sponsorships involve in-show integrations with the series, which premieres Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET and features food experts Anthony Bourdain, Nigella Lawson, Ludo Lefebvre and Brian Malarkey.

To accommodate Unilever's Hellmann's brand, which is known as Best Foods in the western part of the country, Kinetic is producing two versions of the show, one of which will air on ABC on the East Coast and another on the West Coast.  The food company is sponsoring "The Blue Ribbon Challenge," which encourages viewers to play along with the show and enter recipes using Hellmann's or Best Foods as an ingredient. Five winners will get a chance to appear on the show.

The Unilever brands are also presenting a "Blue Ribbon Moment" during each episode highlighting an ingredient.

The show will also feature Ford's "Warriors in Pink" breast cancer campaign. Talent on the show will wear special aprons supporting the campaign's message. The aprons will be on sale, with Ford donating 100% of the net proceeds to charities.

Five Ford 2013 C-Max Hybrids will be used on the show and the winning contestant at the end of the season will get a C-Max Hybrid as a prize.

Williams-Sonoma will be promoting the show in its stores, its catalog and online. Contestant will shops at Whole Market stores and wins from Alamos will be used in an episode. Southwest Airlines provides airfare for the contestants and is featured in the premiere episode.

"We are absolutely thrilled to have the support of such a distinctive group of advertising partners in season one of The Taste," Chris Coelen, founder of Kinetic Content and executive producer, said in a statement. "We believe our new series is a terrific platform for each of these brands to reach their marketing objectives with seamless integrations that will be experienced by our very passionate viewers who love all things food."