Ad of the Day: Marmite becomes contraband in exposé documentary
It’s the store cupboard item you either love or hate, but today, we’re loving it because this ad from Adam&EveDDB is captivating, funny and a little bit sneaky.
To spread the love stateside, Marmite is calling on Brits to smuggle the yeast extract to the US by any means necessary. The Unilever brand has plastered sketchy recruitment posters that reveal a phone number to call to see how you can become a smuggler yourself. Audience participation? Check.
This engaging element is clever but it’s the campaign film that really stands out in our eyes. Adopting the style of an investigative-style documentary, the ad completely nails the look and feel of that type of program. There are the blurred faces, the muffled voices and all the shocking twists and turns you would expect. If you’re from the UK, think along the lines of Channel 4’s Dispatches show.
What makes that utterly brilliant is just how unserious the whole thing is, but the gritty, pseudo-serious tone just adds to the hilarity. The absurdity of Marmite being contraband is so silly that it’s genius.
It ticks so many boxes with a global audience, too. People living in the UK are so familiar with the product that there’s a nostalgic aspect. While across the Atlantic, it piques the interest of Americans who might be curious about this enigmatic condiment that seems to be so difficult to get your hands on.
The spot has that rare effect of making you want to watch it a couple of times just to see if there’s anything you might have missed, which in the age of short-form, short-attention-span, short-everything, is quite something.
The work is bold, takes guts from the client and is already getting people talking. Bravo!
According to the market research platform Kantar, this particular ad scores above the 70th percentile for enjoyment and involvement. In terms of engagement, it is very likely that after watching this spot viewers will remember the brand, making it effective in the long term.
Credits
Unilever
Client, general manager foods (Nutrition): Andre Burger
Client, marketing director: Georgina Bradford
Client, marketing manager: Lena Portchmouth
Client, brand manager: Laura Iliffe
Adam&EveDDB
Chief creative officer: Richard Brim
Executive creative directors: Ant Nelson, Mike Sutherland
Executive creative directors, NYC: Dave Brown, Daniel Bonder
Creatives: Feargal Ballance, Matt Gay
Creatives, NYC: Clarissa Dale, Stacie Larsen, Chris Brailey
Joint head of integrated production/producer: Nikki Cramphorn
Head of print production and experiential: Jaki Jo Hannan
Associate producer, NYC: Christopher Lane
Social creative: Molly Johnstone
Chief creative officer: Miranda Hipwell
Managing partner: Tom White
Account director: Max Sullivan
Managing director, NYC: James Rowe
Account director, NYC: Tatiana Fernandez
Senior planner: Liora Ingram
Project director: Linda-Aileen Macfarlane
Head of project management and operations, NYC: Kimmy Harvey
Senior legal counsel: Tom Campbell
Business affairs: Layla Husted
Smuggler Films
Director: Henry Alex-Rubin
2nd unit director: Jonah & Stan
Producer: Sidney Arthur
Director’s assistant: KJ Brown
Production assistant: Kamran Marzban
Cabin
Editor: Talia Pasqua
Producer: Alex Hooker
Factory
Sound design and mix: James Utting
Audio producer: Beth Massey
Untold
Chief creative officer: Neil Davies
VFX artist: Andrew Curtis
Executive producer: Ian Berry
Producer: George Reid
Production assistant: Zuzanna Drozdz
Out-of-home, phone kiosks, merch, jars, photography
Designer: Mitch Horton, NYC Adam&EveDDB
Artworking: King Henry Studios
Retouching: King Henry Studios
Supply and repro senior producer: Tony Hutton, Cain&AbelDDB
Printing: The Hub London
Photographer: Harry Mitchell
Media
Media agency: Mindshare UK
Business director: Kate Pigden
Account manager - Connections Planning: Meg Wieland
Account director - Kinetic OOH: George Peto
Paid social - account executive: Georgie Coley
Account manager - AV: James Waggott
Account director - AV: Hannah Clayton
PR
PR agency: W Communications
Director: Jess O’Donohoe
Associate creative director: John Wilkinson
Senior content editor: Joe Bishop
Senior account director: Paige Hartley
Account manager: Ella Bull
Senior account executive: Tara Lee