General Mills Rolls Out Another Marketing First With Debut of Pillsbury® Crescents and Shazam® Partnership

15-Second “Holiday Ideas Made Easy” Advertisement Released Today Showcases Shazam for TV, Celebrates Favorite Holiday Fare from Pillsbury Crescents

NEW YORK¾December 5, 2011 – Calling all modern moms in search of delicious, easy holiday nibbles, treats and tasty bites to share with family and friends in coming weeks…keep your smartphones within reach.  General Mills via its ever-popular Pillsbury® Crescents brand takes a technological twist by integrating Shazam for TV to reach busy millennial moms instantly in a first-in-category ad campaign. The company is the first packaged foods company to leverage Shazam’s discovery service, building engagement and excitement for a trusted product many creative cooks turn to during the holiday season.

The “Holiday Ideas Made Easy” 15-second television spot launches today and will air on national networks through the end of the month. In addition, General Mills and Shazam will showcase the television advertisement at the TV of Tomorrow show in New York.  The partnership illustrates how the Shazam for TV service makes it easy for consumers – particularly tech-savvy moms who rely on their smartphones – to access holiday recipes and how-to tips. They can conveniently save the information to their phones and access it later when they’re shopping or finalizing party plans.

“Here’s a modern approach to holiday entertaining that will resonate with our savvy consumers, particularly millennial moms seeking quick ways to round out their recipe repertoire in the coming weeks,” explained Waylon Good, marketing for Pillsbury Crescents. “The partnership with Shazam is cutting edge and sparks another creative and unexpected way to reach consumers. During this busy time of year, we’re pleased to deliver simple 30-minute ideas that start with a staple holiday product and result in dozens of mouthwatering possibilities.”

The campaign aims to help busy millennial moms who were raised on email and the Internet and who are rarely without their smartphones and tablets to help streamline their lives.  When consumers use Shazam during the Pillsbury Crescent commercial, they receive an interactive tag result which lets them flip through different mobile pages that show how easy it is to create an appetizer featured in the ad.  The tag result features new technology that delivers a smoother, faster experience and lets users remain within the Shazam App to view the recipe.  And with the result in their Shazam Tag List, they can carry the recipe and ingredient list wherever they take their mobile device.

General Mills First Packaged Foods Company To Integrate Shazam for TV

“Shazam is excited to launch a new holiday campaign with such a classic American brand as General Mills and Pillsbury,” said Evan Krauss, EVP Advertising for Shazam.  “And we’re proud to highlight as a part of this launch a new interactive feature in our Shazam for TV service that allows people to have a deeper, more engaging experience when they use Shazam on a commercial.”

To use Shazam with the Pillsbury “Holiday Ideas Made Easy” commercial, simply:

1. Download the Shazam App to your smartphone;
2. Use Shazam to listen to the ad when it’s being aired; then,
3. Flip through the various pages of the Pillsbury tag result to see recipes, recipe videos and links to more easy entertaining ideas.

The Shazam-enabled Pillsbury Crescents 15-second spot features Pillsbury’s Crescent-Wrapped Brie, an easy holiday entertaining idea made from just three simple ingredients. Pillsbury Crescents refrigerated dough is convenient, versatile and it can be easily used to make hot-from-the-oven crescent rolls as well as many other delicious dishes such as pinwheels, empanadas, pot pie and mini pizzas. For more Holiday Ideas Made Easy, go to www.pillsbury.com.