Unilever Turns In-Action Heroes into Premiums

A set of unlikely "heroes" could be this summer's hot premium.

Unilever is selling real-life action figures of the "In-Action Heroes" that star in its tongue-in-cheek ad campaign for Degree For Men.

Two of the three heroes—The Wuss and The Suck-Up—are for sale for $12.95 each at Unilever's dedicated Web site, In-actionheroes.com. The third figure, The Mama's Boy, "is hiding in his mother's basement and is currently unavailable for sale," the site said.

In-Action Heroes transform from TV stars to collectibles

Degree's ad campaign broke in January, showing the action figures (aka "dolls") in humorous situations, shopping with Mama or kissing up to the boss. (The message is that Degree users take risks that the In-action Heroes wouldn't dare.) The spots have been available at the Web site since the campaign first began via Lowe New York.

Unilever leveraged the characters for a 10-city sampling push in May (May 3 Xtra). Sampling crews were stationed in high-traffic areas with an oversized toy box housing a man dressed as the Suck-Up. Crews gave out Degree samples to men 18 to 35, while the Suck-Up entertained passers by. 141 Worldwide, Chicago, handles sampling; Javelin, St. Louis, created and staffed the human toy boxes.