Last but not least: neglected spread
Some people love Marmite, while others hate this British yeast-based spread. The same is true of the current Marmite campaign.
Marmite is a traditional seasoning paste that is particularly popular as a spread in the UK (comparable to the Swiss classic Cenovis). The intense yeast flavour - by-products of beer brewing are used for Marmite - is polarizing. The claim for the product is therefore unmistakable: "Love it or hate it".
The current TV campaign builds on this statement and adds to it: "Love it. Hate it. Just don't forget it." In reality TV style, Marmite jars that are gathering dust unused on kitchen shelves are liberated. "Unloved and forgotten - thousands of Marmite jars in the UK are neglected. One in ten Brits admits they haven't opened their jar in the last three months" says the Campaign page. In the clip, poor Marmite jars are transported away in cages like neglected animals and taken to a placement home. There, lucky jars find new owners.
The commercial created by Adam&Eve DDB is good British humor. The Labrador made unrecognizable by pixels alone is worth the price of admission. But like the product, the campaign is also polarizing: according to The Guardian 250 complaints were received by the Advertising Standards Authority within 24 hours of the first broadcast: The work of animal welfare organizations and children's charities was trivialized, the advertising was tasteless and offensive. And the YouTube comments are also divided as to whether the campaign is good or bad. True to the motto: Love it. Hate it. Just don't forget it. (hae)
