The campaign, launched by Nestle Rowntree, includes TV and print ads in addition to below-the-line sampling and PR support.
The creative, produced by JWT London, is targeted toward 18- to 30-year-old women and features Jason Lewis, who played Smith Jerrod, a male model in 'Sex and the City' and PR woman Samantha's one -time boyfriend.
The tongue-in-cheek premise of the ad is that while a semi-naked Lewis explains the science of aerated chocolate and the melting quality of new Aero Bubbles, a good proportion of the target market will be too distracted by him to actually take in all of the product message.
Pushing this idea to its maximum potential, creatives working on the account felt that acknowledging this distraction, and repeating the 30-second ad twice in a row would make for a highly original, and memorable, piece of advertising that viewers can see during US medical drama 'E.R.' tonight. It is believed this is a media first.
The ad is directed by Steve Reeves with production company Another Film Company, while the press ads for lifestyle consumer titles were photographed by Uli Webber. The JWT team includes creatives Ben Short and Jason Berry with creative direction from Howard Wilmott.
Alison Burns, chief executive of JWT London, said: "The new Aero work featuring Jason Lewis is the first phase in an exciting new campaign for Aero, and the first that JWT London has produced for the brand since winning the business from Lowe in 2005. Aero is one of Nestle's top seven confectionery brands, so we are delighted to be launching the new 'hunks' campaign for them."
Philip Davies, Nestle Rowntree brand manager for Aero, said: "The campaign is very eye-catching and is sure to stimulate lots of discussion among our target audience. The campaign creative has tested incredibly well among our target audience of 18- to 30-year-old women and geared towards stimulating a reappraisal of the brand."
Media planning is handled by MindShare, which will initially launch a six-week burst to support the launch of Aero Milk Chocolate Bubbles.