NPD and Media

PICKS OF THE WEEK – THORNTONS

THORNTONS RETURNS TO TV SCREENS

The campaign aims to drive awareness of the Thorntons portfolio in the lead up to Christmas.

Thorntons has returned to TV for the first time in four years, as part of a £3.6m campaign.

The advert, which launched on 19 November and will run for six weeks, aims to “reignite shoppers’ emotional connection” with the brand and drive awareness of the Thorntons portfolio in the lead-up to Christmas.

The campaign follows a successful year for the brand, with performance of both Thorntons Continental and Classic being strong, despite the challenges of lockdown restrictions. Ferrero also launched Thorntons Pearls, presenting a new way for shoppers to gift, share and enjoy the brand.

The campaign includes a 30- and 20-second advert which shows a group of friends getting together, with one couple bringing a box of Thorntons Classic as a gift.

Levi Boorer, Customer Development Director at Ferrero, said: “The strong performance of the brand comes as consumers looked to gift loved ones during the pandemic, with Thorntons having strong relevance across all seasonal occasions, from Christmas, to Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. Our latest campaign will keep the brand front of mind during a key sales period for retailers, ensuring long-term success of the brand and helping to drive purchase of our products in stores.”

Boorer added: “Thorntons is a classic British brand which our nation of shoppers has a lot of love for. This advert reinforces that, with an added element of humour to continue to help people identify with the brand. Following a strong year for our core range, now is the ideal time to get Thorntons back on TV in a fresh and engaging way.”

The campaign will also include social media support.

PICKS OF THE WEEK – ALBERT BARTLETT

ALBERT BARTLETT LAUNCHES NATIONAL ADVERTISING

The campaign will be supported with cinema, digital, and social media advertising.

Potato brand Albert Bartlett is launching a new multi-million pound national advertising campaign.

The advert includes a fantastical representation of a potato picking line and features world-class acrobats to demonstrate the treatment that Albert Bartlett’s potatoes receives.

The advert features a trio of acrobats from Canada’s Flip Fabrique circus group – Jacob Grégoire, Alicia Beaudoin and Dylan Herrera – and includes a potato-themed musical version of the drinking song from Verdi’s opera La Traviata. You’ll know it when you hear it.

The brand says the Make It Extraordinary campaign represents its “playful charm and personality, capturing its essence, character and wit.”

The campaign, which launched during Coronation Street on 19 November, will also be supported with cinema, digital and social media advertising.

Michael Jarvis, Head of Marketing at Albert Bartlett, said: “The team has made Albert Bartlett’s obsession with product quality into the focus of the advert, in a bold and humorous new direction for the campaign. Alicia, Dylan and Jacob leap, tumble, and juggle through the process of selecting, washing and drying not just good, but extraordinary potatoes to make it into Albert Bartlett bags. The resulting adverts and integrated activity around them are unlike anything else in the category and we are very excited to see the whole project coming to life.”

In addition, to mark the launch of the ‘Make it Extraordinary’ campaign, Albert Bartlett will be running a challenge across Instagram and Tik Tok. The top prize is a trip to London to meet television chef Michel Roux Jr at his two Michelin-starred restaurant Le Gavroche.

PICKS OF THE WEEK – KP SNACKS

BUTTERKIST COLLABORATES WITH NEW SPIDER-MAN FILM

Promotional packs feature images of Spider-Man and offer shoppers the opportunity to win prizes with purchases.

KP Snacks has introduced a new on-pack promotion for popcorn brand Butterkist, which celebrates the much-anticipated release of the new Spider-Man film.

The promotional packs feature images of Spider-Man and offer shoppers the opportunity to win prizes with purchases of Butterkist popcorn. Prizes include five Sony tech bundles that feature Sony Bravia 65” smart TV, a Sony All-One Sound Bar, and Sony headphones.

The promotion, which runs until mid-February 2022, will be available across sharing bags of Tasty Sweet (100g), Deliciously Sweet & Salty (100g), Simply Salted (80g), and Crunchy Toffee popcorn (170g). The campaign will also run across the £1 price marked pack format.

KP Snacks says the campaign with Spider-Man: No Way Home is a perfect partnership for a Big Night In, offering shoppers the opportunity to add excitement to their evenings by creating shared entertainment moments and a tasty treat.

Kevin McNair, Marketing Director at KP Snacks, commented: “The new Butterkist promotion aims to capitalise on the growth of popcorn sharing occasions. The promotion is perfectly positioned to disrupt shoppers, broaden Butterkist’s appeal and bring new shoppers to the category. Driving category penetration by focusing on the fun and excitement of a big theatrical release, a well-loved character and the opportunity to win big prizes, the campaign creates a valuable opportunity for retailers to drive growth in popcorn”.

He added: “We are proud to team up with Sony Pictures on an immensely successful film franchise to drive further penetration in the popcorn category. The strong appeal of a Spider-Man movie, excel-

PICKS OF THE WEEK – DIAGEO

DIAGEO LAUNCHES RESPONSIBLE DRINKING

The campaign uses digital animations to show what happens when common festive pleasures can become one too many.

Diageo has launched a new responsible drinking global campaign designed to make people stop and think about overindulgence during the festive period.

‘Know When to Stop’ uses a series of digital animations to show what happens when common festive pleasures like eating sweet treats, binge watching TV and films, and over-decorating your home can become one too many.

The digital animations were created by an award-winning illustrator Cari Vander Yacht. He said: “I wanted to visually capture the sort of manic nature of ‘too much of a good thing’ which was central to the overall idea of moderation. I like tales of human folly, so I tried to capture that in a festive, over the top way.”

The campaign, which launched across Diageo’s social channels, is part of the company’s commitment to reaching one billion people with dedicated responsible drinking messaging by 2030 and to educate people on the risks of the harmful use of alcohol as part of the company’s 10-year action plan, Society 2030: Spirit of Progress.

Kate Gibson, Global Director of Diageo in Society, said: “We know the holidays are an important time of year for people to be getting together and celebrating. This campaign is a fun, festive reminder that there’s a happy limit to everything and the holidays are best enjoyed in moderation, be that drinking, eating, or binge-watching.”

The global campaign has been designed to signpost adults to DRINKiQ – a global resource to help people make responsible choices about drinking, or not drinking.

Gibson added: “DRINKiQ is a great place for people to go to find out more about alcohol, the impact it can have on their bodies, and the importance of drinking in moderation.”

PICKS OF THE WEEK – CELEBRATIONS

CELEBRATIONS LAUNCHES NEW CAMPAIGN

The ‘Bring The Whoop Whoop’ campaign aims to position Celebrations as the ultimate gift to share.

Celebrations has launched a new campaign, which encourages people to come together and celebrate all year round, not just at Christmas.

‘Bring The Whoop Whoop’ aims to position Celebrations as the ultimate gift to share, which draws people together to have fun and be happy.

The new strategy maintains and celebrates the brand’s festive heritage and sees Celebrations move beyond its traditional Christmas association by evolving the classic Celebrations box into a gift for any time of the year.

A new ad, which features two identical twins opening two identical presents, kicks off the brand activity. The pair reveal two boxes of Celebrations resulting in them celebrating by whoop whooping at each other before the rest of the family join in.

The advert will run until the end of 2021 across TV, video-on-demand, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. It is also supported by in-store activation.

Cemre Cudal, Senior Brand Manager of Celebrations, said: “Celebrations has become synonymous with Christmas and the holiday season. While this is brilliant, our new campaign looks to push the brand further into those other moments of joy and celebration.

The new creative captures the wonderful feeling of joy, excitement and whoop whoop energy you get when you gift or receive Celebrations – which we think should be embraced all year round.”

The brand says a “further wave of work” will launch in 2022 and beyond, which will “embody this all-year-round spirit”.

PICKS OF THE WEEK

SUPER SPICED

Dead Man’s Fingers has launched a new limited-edition Super Spiced Rum variant, aged for six years to deliver intense flavour. The brand is also ramping up its marketing activity with advertising slots on Absolute Radio and Planet Rock throughout November and December.

EASTER BUN BAR

Mondelez International is launching the Cadbury Dairy Milk Hot Cross Bun Bar. The new cinnamon crunch-flavoured bar taps into a much-loved Easter ritual of sharing hot cross buns. The new 110g bar will be available in cases of 18 at an RSP of £1.40 per bar.

HEETING UP

Philip Morris has launched HEETS Mauve, a new variant in its range of HEETS tobacco sticks designed exclusively for the IQOS heated tobacco system. HEETS Mauve offers a crisp menthol tobacco blend with a taste of dark forest fruits, and is available now.

SPREAD THE LOVE

Saputo Dairy UK is continuing its Clover ‘Spread the Real Love’ marketing campaign with another burst of media activity. The second phase of the campaign, which runs to the end of November, is expected to generate a combined digital reach of 10 million consumers.

FESTIVE PACKS

VK has introduced a festive pack featuring the limited-edition VK Gingerbread. The festive pack, which retails at £10, will swap with the standard mixed pack while stocks last. Consumers have the chance to win a Christmas jumper if they find a winning ticket within the pack.

BEET THIS

Leading beetroot brand, Baxters, has added a new flavour to its jarred beetroot offering. The new Black Pepper & Fennel Beetroot is pickled in apple cider vinegar and flavoured with punchy black peppercorns and aromatic fennel seeds. The new addition retails at £1.60 for a 340g jar.