Coles has introduced a new strapline and it's strikingly similar to Woolworths long-term fresh food positioning.
The line 'Coles Fresh' appears in an ad starring the supermarket’s ambassador celebrity chef Curtis Stone picking oranges off trees, pulling carrots out of the ground and joining a family for an outdoor meal. The ad aired on Wednesday (15 July) for the first time.
It seems as though the supermarket is trying to own the theme 'fresh' by attempting to turn it into a verb with people saying “I Coles Freshed It”.
Woolworths first used the tagline Fresh Food People in 1987 and it's synonymous with the supermarket. It revived the 'Fresh Food People' line a year ago in its first major brand work from creative agency Leo Burnett. At the time the brand said it was a nod to its history and to its future. Woolies magazine is also called Fresh.
It's the latest in a series of tit for tat marketing initiatives by the duopoly as they continue to battle it our over price and quality. Woolworths Cheap Cheap, when it was introduced last year was widely seen to be a take on Coles wildly successful Down Down price campaign.
A Coles spokesperson said the campaign aims to showcase the great quality Australian fresh produce available from Coles.
"Customers tell us that the quality of our fresh food really matters to them and we’ve worked closely with our farmers and growers across Australia to look at the way our products are grown, harvested and prepared. Together with Curtis Stone, our fresh advisor and ambassador, our teams have rejuvenated our offer and developed fantastic new products we hope our customers will love"
Woolworths' marketing team is currently in a state of flux with a series of high profile departures including former CMO Tony Phillips, and Jess Gill among those to depart suddenly last month. CEO Grant O’Brien also announced his retirement last month.
Woolworths declined to comment.
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