UB switches on its masterbrand

McVitie’s
McVitie’s new 30-second ads, use baby animals to celebrate the part biscuits play in British life.

UNITED Biscuits is reorganising its biscuit family by what it calls ‘masterbrands’ – McVitie’s for sweet biscuits and Jacob’s for savoury lines – in a bid, it says, to help consumers navigate their way around the ranges. The development, which will cover everything except the Go Ahead brand, will be backed by £12m worth of multimedia activity.

Kicking off the marketing push is a series of 30-second TV ads on McVitie’s lines, celebrating biscuit-eating moments with the help of puppies, kittens and a tarsier, a tiny Asian primate. The campaign launched during high-profile TV programmes last month.
United Biscuits CEO, Martin Glenn, said: “Our masterbrand campaign for McVitie’s is the result of 12 months of extensive customer research in which we aimed to get to the heart of the emotional role biscuits play in our lives.
“Thanks to the strength of our heritage range, McVitie’s has come to represent 40% of the everyday biscuits market. The new campaign aims to tap into consumers’ love for these brands as well supporting our efforts to drive growth for the category.”