DuPont Campaign Focuses on Science

DuPont kicked off an advertising campaign Wednesday designed to remind investors and employees about what the company sees as its mission: science. Replacing its “Better things for better living,” which the company has used since 1935, the Delaware giant introduced “The miracles of science” with a 12-page special section in the Wall Street Journal. Company executives said that while the “Better things” campaign focused on products, the new branding effort is meant to convey the company’s scientific efforts.

The campaign by McCann-Erickson of New York, which trade magazines pegged at $50 million--a figure the company refuses to confirm, highlights such DuPont innovations as Thermolite clothing and Kevlar, which the company touts for its aerospace applications. “This positioning is just . . . an articulation of that transformation to what we’ve always been,” said Carol Gee, the company’s global brand manager. “But we need to say it again in a very contemporary way.” Television ads will begin airing in September.