MAGNUM® Ice Cream Partners with Zac Posen for U.S. Launch of MAGNUM® Gold?!

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., April 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- MAGNUM® Ice Cream announced today the U.S. introduction of MAGNUM® Gold?!, the world's first golden ice cream bar and a uniquely indulgent treat that is truly as good as gold. In celebration of the launch, American fashion designer Zac Posen created a one-of-a-kind, 24-karat gold dress inspired by Magnum Gold?! - valued at $1.5 million - to debut in a short film starring actor Joe Manganiello, during the Tribeca Film Festival on Thursday, April 18.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130403/CG87848-a)

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130403/CG87848-b)

Delicately crafted from only the finest ingredients, MAGNUM Gold?! features silky vanilla bean ice cream swirled with sea salt caramel and dipped in a golden coating made with Belgian milk chocolate. It's an indulgent treat for people who pursue pleasures that are as good as gold.

Zac Posen Designs His First-Ever 24K Gold Dress
Posen designed the one-of-a-kind couture gown in delicate fabric, featuring more than 10 thousand hand-embroidered 24K gold sequins in five different sizes which were hand-created from sheets of 24k gold. The design team worked with embroidery professionals to bring the dress to life, with two weeks spent handcrafting and sewing delicate gold sequins using a special embroidery technique to accentuate the female shape.

"Creating my first-ever 24-karat gold dress was a truly priceless experience," said Posen. "I'm naturally drawn to luxury and love to push my creativity, so the design process of creating a couture dress made of gold was thrilling. I pulled inspiration from MAGNUM Gold?! for the dress design... the train reminds me of melting ice cream. The dress is so decadent."

The details of the dress along with the intricate details of its design, will be shared immediately following its gold carpet debut during the Tribeca Film Festival. Additionally, a behind-the-scenes look at Posen's design process will be available on the MAGNUM Facebook page leading up to its reveal.

"As Good As Gold" Encourages Women to Unlock Their Pleasures
The irresistible decadence of MAGNUM Gold?! Ice Cream will be brought to life in the short film "As Good As Gold," by Emmy-award winning director Jon Cassar. The film will star Manganiello along with actress Caroline Correa as his newest leading lady.

Manganiello plays a gold thief who falls for the beautiful but dangerous Correa as she wears Posen's 24K gold dress. In the film, he finds out the hard way that all bets are off when it comes to women who pursue pleasures that are as good as gold.

"I love a woman who's not afraid to go after what she wants," said Manganiello. "In the film, Caroline's character steals my heart and gold, all in pursuit of the pleasures of MAGNUM Gold?!"

In addition to its debut at Tribeca Film Festival, the film will be simultaneously released to viewers around the world on MAGNUM's Facebook page, facebook.com/magnum.

Launch of MAGNUM Gold?!
Since its U.S. introduction in 2011, MAGNUM Ice Cream has become a favorite treat among U.S. consumers and has expanded to include nine delicious flavors, made with only the finest ingredients.

"We are thrilled to celebrate the U.S. arrival of MAGNUM Gold?!," said Nick Soukas, director of ice cream at Unilever. "MAGNUM is one of the world's largest ice cream brands, and is recognized as a global icon of pleasure and indulgence. As the inspiration for Zac Posen's 24-karat gold dress and 'As Good As Gold ' film, the introduction of MAGNUM Gold?! is elevating the ice cream pleasure experience to a new level."

MAGNUM Gold?! and MAGNUM Mini Gold?! Ice Cream bars are available at grocery retailers nationwide, including Walmart, Target, Safeway and Kroger. MAGNUM Ice Cream bars are available in three-count multipacks for a suggested retail price of $3.99. MAGNUM Mini Ice Cream bars are available in six-count multipacks for a suggested retail price of $5.49. These premium delights are also available as individually wrapped, on-the-go bars.

For information about MAGNUM Gold?! and exclusive behind-the-scenes looks, step behind the velvet ropes at magnumicecream.com and join the #magnumscene on the following social channels:

• Facebook | facebook.com/magnum
• Twitter | twitter.com/magnumicecream
• Pinterest | pinterest.com/magnumicecream
• Instagram | instagram.com/magnumicecream
• Tumblr | magnumicecream.tumblr.com

About MAGNUM
Launched in 1989, MAGNUM was the first handheld ice cream targeted as a premium adult offering. Today, MAGNUM is one of the world's leading ice cream brands, selling one billion units annually worldwide, and it is the biggest brand of Unilever ice creams.

About Unilever United States, Inc.
Unilever is one of the world's leading suppliers of Food, Home and Personal Care products with sales in over 190 countries. Our products are present in seven out of 10 homes globally and are used by over 2 billion people on a daily basis. In the United States the portfolio includes brand icons such as: Axe, Ben & Jerry's, Bertolli, Breyers, Caress, Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy, Consort For Men, Country Crock, Degree, Dove personal care products, Good Humor, Hellmann's, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!, Just for Me!, Klondike, Knorr, Lever 2000, Lipton, MAGNUM, Motions, Nexxus, Noxzema, Pond's, Popsicle, Promise, Q-tips, Ragú, Simple, Slim-Fast, Soft & Beautiful, St. Ives, Suave, tcb, TIGI, TRESemmé, Vaseline, and Wish-Bone. All of the preceding brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Unilever Group of Companies.

Our ambition is to double the size of our business, whilst reducing our overall environmental footprint (including sourcing, consumer use and disposal) and increasing our positive social impact. We are committed to helping more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being, sourcing all our agricultural raw materials sustainably by 2020, and decoupling our growth from our environmental impact. Supporting our three big goals are more than 50 time-based targets. See more on the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan at http://www.unileverusa.com/sustainable-living/.

Unilever employs more than 10,000 people in the United States – generating over $9 billion in sales in 2012. For more information, visit www.unileverusa.com.

For more information or images, please contact:
Jennifer Davis
GolinHarris
312-729-4248
[email protected]

SOURCE MAGNUM Ice Cream