Minnesota Corn is continuing to extensively promote ethanol to consumers statewide in 2022. But the effort, known as the Better Fuel Initiative, has gotten a fresh look.

Starting this week, new advertisements touting the benefits of Unleaded 88, which contains up to 15% ethanol, and other ethanol-blended fuels are playing on radio and TV stations across Minnesota. Additionally, new ads will be featured on billboards, truck sides and GSTV (a network of on-screen entertainment found at pumps across the state).

Like in 2021, the ads feature KFAN’s Chris Hawkey, a proud ethanol advocate whose support for biofuels stems from his upbringing in the rural Midwest. But new this year, the ads feature the real-life Hawkey, in addition to an animated version of him. Minnesota Corn worked with Hawkey and a local advertising agency to produce the new spots earlier this winter.

“We’re confident the ads will make an impact in boosting awareness and, ultimately, sales of ethanol-blended fuels,” said D.J. VanKlompenburg, a Minnesota Corn Growers Association (MCGA) board member.

For years, Minnesota Corn has broadly promoted ethanol’s clean-air benefits, higher octane rating and lower cost, as part of its efforts to increase opportunities for the state’s corn farmers. In early 2020, Minnesota Corn rebranded the ethanol-promotion efforts as the Better Fuel Initiative. The launch of the new outreach campaign coincided with a push by MCGA to generate momentum for a statewide E15 standard at the state Legislature, an effort that continues in 2022.

In 2021, Minnesota Corn elevated the Better Fuel Initiative, bringing on Hawkey as a celebrity spokesman and featuring him in ads that played statewide. Minnesota Corn also continued to partner with Twin Cities Road Crew (TCRC) and the American Lung Association (ALA) in Minnesota on fuel-promotion events at fueling stations around the state.

Additionally, Minnesota Corn partnered with ALA and TCRC in the fall to create six social media videos that provide key facts on Unleaded 88 and higher-blend biofuels.

Overall, the efforts appear to have moved the needle when it comes to sales of ethanol-blended fuels in Minnesota. In 2021, the state set a record for Unleaded 88 sales, and sales of E85 rebounded in 2021 after dipping in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

To learn more about the Better Fuel Initiative, visit betterfuel.org.