McVitie’s is answering the age-old debate over whether Jaffa Cakes are a cake or a biscuit with its new marketing campaign.
Adverts rolling out now as part of the nationwide campaign, which includes out of home (OOH) and social media activation, feature the brand’s dark blue and orange livery with cheeky catchlines including, ‘We’re a Cake! You biscuit’, ‘Say biscuit one more time… we dare you’, ‘Clue’s on the box, bruv’, and ‘Nuff said’ with an arrow pointing clearly to the word ‘Cakes’.
Despite having been answered by a tribunal in the early nineties, the debate is stirred up frequently – most recently by mentions on TV shows including Gogglebox and Love Island.
Seeking to get commuters involved in the debate, the brand will also display ads in train stations offering them a chance to pick a side – one side proclaims ‘Stand here if you think it’s a cake’ while the other side states ‘Stand here if you’re an idiot’.
The OOH and social media elements of the campaign aim to engage a wider audience by placing Jaffa Cakes front and centre in people’s minds, according to McVitie’s, and will be reinforced by in-store treatments reminding shoppers ‘Don’t take the biscuit, grab the cake’.
The campaign has been created by TBWA\London and also features partnerships with leading Gen Z influencers as well as Great British memes on social media.
“Jaffa Cakes are a cupboard staple for many, and the cake vs biscuit debate only highlights how much people love them. But enough is enough. We’re putting an end to it here and now,” said Adam Woolf, marketing director – McVitie’s at Pladis UK&I.
“The campaign taps into Jaffa’s distinctive heritage of boldness and boundary-pushing in its unapologetic way, while retaining its classic British humour roots. Its light-hearted nature reflects the youthfulness of Gen Z and families, as it humorously takes a provocative stance on the cake vs biscuit debate with engaging end lines.”
The campaign follows the extension of the Jaffa Cake range in recent years with a raspberry variation added in 2023 and the brand’s first non-fruit flavour, cola bottle, added in June.
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