Brands are increasingly moving away from product-based advertising, instead choosing to communicate the role they can play in people’s lives using an emotive approach.
For years, MasterFoods created product-led advertising under the brand platform Meal Makers, but the recent decision to shift away from that approach was led by research that found two thirds of Australians no longer eat dinner together.
In 2016 launch the brand launched Make Dinner Time Matter brand platform by Clemenger BBDO Sydney. The concept focuses on connecting families and reminding them not to miss out on the important moments that a shared meal can create.
The first work for the platform launched last year and was widely celebrated on social media. The second reiteration launched last week, showcasing the different rituals families have at meal time.
The 2017 work
The 2016 work
What the client says
Mars Food marketing director Tim Hicks tells AdNews the brand wanted to play a more significant role in society beyond creating food.
“We really wanted MasterFoods to mean something more to our consumers and play a role in their lives beyond the food we sell," Hicks says.
“To get noticed these days you need to be relevant in their lives and we have an absolute belief that you have to move or entertain to get noticed."
He says product-based advertising seems to "becoming more and more like wallpaper", implying it is having less impact on consumers.
Hicks credits Clemenger BBDO Sydney as the driving force in moving away from the Meal Makers campaign.
“Our agency was a key enabler in giving us the bravery it took in moving away from product-led advertising to purpose-led. We are with this brand platform for the long haul now,” he says.
The Meal Makers campaign
What the agency says
Clemenger creative director Luke Hawkins, who has been at the agency for five years, says the Meal Makers campaign was beginning to feel too functional and there was a shift across the industry towards purpose that MasterFoods wanted to tap into.
“It’s rare to work on a brand that you share the same values with. We are all here to sell product but we also believe in having a genuine social purpose that benefits people," Hawkins says.
"This campaign is a warm reminder that in a busy world where we love screens, a home cooked dinner with family can be more gratifying than a random person’s Instagram feed."
“We believe that you have to connect with people emotionally these days. If you don’t, you’ve lost them. Consumers are increasingly making buying decisions on how they feel about a brand.
Clemenger BBDO Sydney has worked on the MasterFoods account for 15 years.
Like any good relationship, Hawkins, as well as fellow creative Ben Smith, agree that it takes time to get the client and agency relationship to a point where there is trust to take risks.
“It takes more than five years to build a relationship where we can move away from the expected product focus that
MasterFoods used to do, pushing particular spices and sauces, to instead connecting people on a higher emotive level,” Hawkins says.
Smith agrees, adding that brands need to work through the highs and lows with their agency to create a long-standing and successful platform.
“We are expecting to be an enduring platform as there is a lot of value in building a brand asset that is easily identifiable. Snickers is a great example of that,” Smith says.
“It feels like a lot of brands and agencies chuck out the old platform to do something new and sometimes there is no need to do that.”
The recent campaign is the last from Clemenger ECD Paul Nagy, who announced his departure at the end of 2016.
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