News Feature - Irn Bru's 'IF' campaign
For decades Irn Bru advertising has been tapping into the Scottish consumers’ obsession with the bubbly orange secret liquid by using humour
For decades Irn Bru advertising has been tapping into the Scottish consumers’ obsession with the bubbly orange secret liquid by using humour, familiarity, being real and pushing boundaries.
On Monday the 12 May, Irn Bru and The Leith Agency will launch their newest campaign in over a year and 200 lucky golden ticket winners were privy to a sneak preview a week in advance.
The new campaign, titled ‘IF’, is said to continue taking consumers down the route of “feeling phenomenal”, versus simply “tasting phenomenal”. The new ad will delve into what it is to be Scottish and to embrace it.
Written by a new senior creative team to Leith, Cathie Hutton, copywriter, and Steven Robertson, art director, alongside creative director, Gerry Ferrell, this new campaign is aimed at triggering the more emotive side of its audience.
The script is adapted version of an, ironically, English poem by Rudyard Kipling, also entitled, IF. The Irn Bru version is narrated in the background of the ad, whilst viewers are taken through different experiences of being a Scotsman; such as cold rain, football defeats and naturally pale skin. Also, there is the promise of a big Irn Bru twist.
With the aid of production company MTP, street casting was used wherever possible. “Irn Bru is a very real brand, it’s very appropriate to have real people in our advertising as well.” shared Adrian Troy , head of Mmarketing for AG Barr's.
Filming lasted an entire week and took part in three different locations; Glasgow, Edinburgh and two separate locations in Spain.
In comparing 'IF' to Irn Bru’s past ads, Troy states; “[The] new ad is a continuation of feeling phenomenal and another piece of successful advertising. Our TV advertising is extremely important in helping create a bond between Irn Bru and its consumers. Hopefully this will do the same. The brand is a carbonate; carbonates are up 6% in Scotland in the last quarter. Irn Bru is a growing share with in that.
“Spring growing into summer is a very important time of year for us. Weather improves and the advert is the key part of Barr’s campaign to stimulate sales even further over the next few months.”
With talk in the past of Irn Bru working on moving into the southern region of the U.K., it almost seems to back track that they would make such a strongly Scottish advertisement. However, according to Ed Brook, Managing Partner of The Leith Agency, Irn Bru may be a Scottish brand and embraces its roots, but the campaign can transcend borders in more than one way.
He says: “There are lots of insights in the ad that Scots will relate to and identify with, and undoubtedly it has more of a Scottish feel to it. However lots of the insights stray over the border too and people who aren’t Scottish and have seen the ad feel some of the insights that you see there.”