Primary flavors

More than the usual participants showed up at the New Hampshire
Democratic primary last week ““ Ben & Jerry’s new
Primary Berry Graham ice cream flavor made its first public
appearance there as well.

Ben & Jerry’s teamed up with Rock the Vote to create
the concoction of strawberry cheesecake ice cream with swirls of
graham cracker, in an effort to promote political awareness and
mobilize younger voters.

“This was just a kind of a first opportunity to get it out
there. We’re hoping that everyone who is eligible to vote
will vote. The whole purpose is to bring the 20 million young
voters to the polls,” said Lee Holden, Ben &
Jerry’s senior public relations coordinator.

Rock the Vote street teams were present during the New Hampshire
primaries, registering voters while doling out the ice cream
indoors.

Rock the Vote is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that
often uses well-known icons in the entertainment business to try to
get young people to vote.

“(Ben & Jerry’s) knows we have a unique
relationship with young voters ““ we have a history of
energizing young voters to vote,” said Jay Strell, Rock the
Vote’s communication director.

Rock the Vote also visited the University of New Hampshire, as
well as some other area colleges, to target youth voters and spread
their message.

Voters weren’t the only lucky ones who got to taste the
icy treat; the Democratic presidential candidates were also
offered Primary Berry Graham. Ben & Jerry’s and Rock the
Vote went to various campaign events, gave out ice cream, and
attempted to reach out to the voters.

“Even though it was sub-zero temps, the response to the
flavor and the message was positive. “¦ Many people took the
oath to vote,” Strell said.

Free samples of the new flavor may not be too tempting in the
frigid temperatures of New England, but in sunny Southern
California, ice cream probably won’t leave the taste buds in
permafrost.

Ice cream afficionados can get a scoop at the Santa Monica ice
cream shop. The Westwood Ben & Jerry’s location
anticipates the new flavor any day this week. Ben &
Jerry’s is rolling out pints nationwide over the next few
weeks.

“It’ll be out all year. “¦ This is one of our
major flavors for 2004,” Holden said.

Ben & Jerry’s conceptualized the new flavor in early
2003 while developing flavors for this year. The progressive ice
cream company has a history of advocating certain issues.

Last year, Ben & Jerry’s partnered up with the Dave
Matthews Band to promote environmental issues. Together, they
created the flavor One Sweet Whirl, named after the band’s
“One Sweet World” track, to raise funds and awareness
about global warming.

“We thought in 2004, the most important issue was the
elections,” Holden said.

Last fall, Ben & Jerry’s and America Online held an
online contest where AOL members suggested names for the new
flavor. Ben & Jerry’s, Rock the Vote and AOL narrowed the
thousands of submissions down to three and AOL members then voted
again. The democratic contest gave birth to the name Primary Berry
Graham.

Each year, Ben & Jerry’s introduces new flavors to
replace retired flavors that didn’t have enough staying power
on the market.

To promote Primary Berry Graham, Ben & Jerry’s has
many more events scheduled throughout the year, though specifics
were not disclosed.