- Alex Palmer

Dove Chocolate and Martha Stewart have partnered for a line of special edition Dove Promises chocolates. The chocolates, which feature holiday messages from Stewart, will be promoted in-store and across Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia platforms, including The Martha Stewart Show and the Martha Stewart Living and Everyday Food magazines.

The special edition bags of dark chocolates, almond and caramel, as well as a limited edition Peppermint Bark, will include some 200 unique holiday tips under their foil wrappers. The messages—such as “Cut marshmallows into shapes to serve in hot cocoa”—are drawn from 17 years of December issues of Martha Stewart Living magazine. The suggested retail price for the bags of chocolates is $4.49

The chocolates will be promoted during the traditionally big sales periods for Dove—namely between now and December 31, and January to February 2010 for Valentine’s Day.

“We’re always asking ‘how can we amplify these occasions?’” said Ryan Bowling, a rep for Mars Snackfood US, which owns the Dove brand. “What better way than to use a voice like Martha Stewart’s, who is known for creativity around these holidays?”

Dove will be running ads in Stewart’s magazines. On December 9, The Martha Stewart Show will broadcast a special segment dedicated to Dove’s sustainability efforts in Brazil and its factory in Elizabethtown, Penn. The chocolates will also be promoted on DoveChocolate.com and Marthastewart.com.

Dove Chocolate (including the Dove Beautiful and Dove Vitalize lines) spent $22.2 million on advertising in 2008, and $8.6 million between January and August 2009, per the Nielsen Co. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia spent $5.1 million on media in 2008 and $800,000 in the first eight months of 2009.

The Dove Promise squares have always held brief inspirational messages, but Dove hopes that notes carrying Stewart’s name will give a boost to the line of chocolates. “From our end, it’s driving awareness, which can lead to sales and awareness for the long term of telling our story of how Dove is made,” said Bowling. “Martha is a great partner to help communicate that story for us.”