MAGnet #22 21/10/21

Magnet #22

Welcome to another week of magnet.

Enjoy.

Campaigns:

This week, Camden Town Brewery released an ad with the controversial spread that is Marmite. The beermaker has re-released the ’Marmite Kiss’ ad with a new twist.

In the original spot, a couple move in for a kiss, before one breaks off – repelled by the taste of Marmite on their lover’s lips.

But in the new ad, marmite itself is replaced with a tin of Camden Love Hate Marmite Ale, creating similar results for the would-be couple.

Zoe Wulfsohn-Dunkley, head of marketing at Camden Town Brewery, said: “We couldn’t be happier with consumer reaction to our Camden Marmite Ale. In true Marmite style, it has caused debate among beer lovers across the country, but we’d like to think we’ve surprised a few haters out there with our fresh-tasting beer.

“Marmite is such an iconic brand, we wanted to do something extra special to commemorate this collaboration. The ‘Marmite Kiss’ advert does such a great job at bringing to life the divisive nature of the nation’s favorite yeast-y spread, so we couldn’t wait to put our own spin on it to launch our Camden Marmite Ale.”

This is a clever campaign, not only because it harks back to an old one for Marmite, but because with the branding of ‘you either love it or hate it’, it allows freedom in what brands can do with Marmite and it’ll fit into that branding, no matter how quirky.

 

Black History Month:

London’s tube map

London’s Tube map has been powerfully recreated to honour hundreds of people who helped shape black history in Britain.

The 272 station names of the tube have been replaced by notable black figures from pre-Tudor times to the present day. The map was produced by TfL in partnership with Black Cultural Archives, a cultural centre in Brixton, south London.

They include the first black woman to serve in the Royal Navy, who disguised herself as a man called William Brown.

Other people featured are Victorian circus owner Pablo Fanque, who inspired the Beatles song Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite!, and composer and poet Cecile Nobrega, who led a 15-year campaign to establish England’s first permanent public monument to black women in Stockwell.

The names of Tube lines have also been changed to link them by common themes.

The Bakerloo line represents sports stars, like Olympic runner Harry Edward, while the Central line relates to those in the Arts, the Circle line remembers Georgians and the District line honours trailblazers.

The Jubilee line marks LGBTQ+ idols, the Hammersmith and City recognises vanguards, the Metropolitan line medics, the Northern line campaigners, the Piccadilly line performers, the Victoria line literary stars and finally the Waterloo and City line honours cultural heroes.

#ThisIsBlack

TikTok is celebrating black creators who are offering much of their social video platform content in OOH campaigns as part of a series of activations to commemorate Black History Month.

The campaign “#ThisIsBlack” was created by TikTok Creative Lab EU, designed and produced by Gravity Road, and built outside the home by Dialogical. Billboard ads appear on more than 200 sites across the UK, including the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, North London. Peckham High Street in southern London, and Cardiff Castle Street.

The poster is supported by social ads on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Additionally,  TikTok hosts a series of panels and educational content covering food, comedy and music, as well as in-app activations such as hashtag challenges and brand effects.

Social media:

Facebook is planning to change its name as part of a company rebrand, and the move is likely to position the app alongside its other brands such as Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus under a new umbrella company.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to share the name change and the company’s ambition to be known for more than social media at the tech giant’s annual Connect conference on 28 October, according to the Verge, citing a source with direct knowledge of the matter.

This rebrand follows a similar move made by Google, which rebranded its parent company to Alphabet in 2015 in an effort to separate its internet operations from its research divisions, including X Lab and its health businesses.

At the time, Marketing Week columnist Mark Ritson described it as a “huge strategic move” that allows Google’s many sub-brands the freedom of their own organisational cultures.

According to the Verge source, Facebook’s new name is “a closely guarded secret”, and is not even known among its full leadership team.