DALLAS – Borden, a heritage American brand and leading U.S. dairy processor and distributor, today announced Cincinnati-based Curiosity Advertising as its marketing agency of record. Curiosity will handle creative, consumer strategy and media for a 2019 refresh of the brand and its iconic mascot Elsie The Cow.
Borden was founded in 1857 and introduced Elsie The Cow in 1936. In 2000, Elsie earned national recognition as one of Ad Age’s top 10 advertising icons of the 20th century. This year, the company committed to a brand rejuvenation after it received a sizable investment from ACON Investments and appointed new CEO Tony Sarsam.
“From being the first company to condense milk and use glass milk bottles to launching Elsie’s state fair tour in the ‘30s, marketing and innovation have been foundational to Borden for 161 years,” Sarsam said. “We are excited for Curiosity Advertising to build on this legacy as we modernize the brand and reclaim our position as a leader in the dairy industry.”
Among the 10 executives who have been recruited by Borden this year is Chief Marketing Officer Joe DePetrillo, who joined the company in June. DePetrillo previously held key leadership roles at WhiteWave Foods/Danone, Nestle, Johnson & Johnson and Best Foods.
“It was immediately clear to us that Curiosity ‘got’ the Borden brand and how we need to refresh it to stay relevant to today’s consumer,” DePetrillo said. “We look forward to working with the Curiosity team during what promises to be a milestone year for us in 2019.”
Curiosity Advertising has already begun work to launch Borden’s first campaign in the first quarter of 2019. Media spending plans were not revealed.
