There Is Only One
McVitie’s
TBWA\London
The Challenge
It was Warren Buffet who said that when the tide goes out, you’ll see who has been swimming naked. Unfortunately for McVitie’s, a COLC and inflationary environment revealed weakness in their brand equity.
Their ability to command a premium was under serious threat, already showing share loss and threatening their number 1 status. If TBWA\London didn’t act with urgency, they’d risk being put in the nostalgia biscuit tin.
The Solution
There Can Only Be One:
Through a series of famous imitators, McVitie’s proved that you can be often copied but never equaled. TBWA\London showcased some of the most famous imitators of true originals: think Elvis, the GOAT, the godfather and to top it all off, a voiceover and cameo of one of Britain’s original newsreaders, Sir Trevor McDonald.
As TBWA\London were relaunching an icon, McVitie’s brand body language was as important as their message. Both audio and AV were important for proving the not-quite-rightness of the imitators, so they went big on long form TV, cinema, social and OLV. To show off the imitators in all their glory, they also created socially led content behind the scenes.
Behind the Scenes
The Results
Ad awareness increased 10 pts to 44%. But crucially we arrested the declines in value perception, consideration and purchase intent. Value perception increased from a -25% decline to +12% Pre vs post campaign. Consideration went from a -15% decline to a +6% increase Pre vs post campaign. Purchase intent from a -42% decline to a +27% increase Pre vs post campaign. These movements in communication metrics resulted in a +4.6% increase in penetration pre vs post campaign and a +16% increase in sales.
