Taste the Effort

Ginsters is Britain’s number one pasty. Years of growth through roadside convenience outlets left it associated with poor quality perceptions. A commercial growth driver was now its brand’s Achilles heel. Ginsters needed to move from on-the-go to in-home meals. And to do that, TBWA\London had to shake the public’s poor-quality perceptions.

Ginsters associations were ones of quick fuel, filled with crap, eaten by men in white vans. This was an injustice, as Ginsters is a family-owned Cornish business that sources all its ingredients from local Cornish farms, committed to quality in everything they do. 

TBWA\London’s brief was to grow stronger quality perceptions for Ginsters. In doing so, they would unlock long term penetration and sales for the brand.

It was a logical step to use a provenance story to improve quality perceptions. The issue was everyone was pursuing the same strategy for quality communications. TBWA\London had to disrupt the farm to fork zeitgeist, in a way only a Cornish pasty could.

Enter Merryn, a Cornish farmer who is obsessed with growing vegetables that go into Ginsters’ pasties. There is no effort spared when it comes to caring for her veg. TBWA\London developed this character to signal Ginsters’ commitment to quality–though they also wanted her to charm the audience, to cut through and bring a more human side to the brand. So, TBWA\London gave her a charming Cornish accent and free spirited Cornish personality, to land a truly unforgettable character.