Branston, the UK’s best-selling pickle brand, is to launch a UK sampling tour this month, as part of a wider marketing initiative to aimed at reinforcing the pickle brand’s positioning as ‘the perfect partner for cheese’.

The activity will amplify the success of the brand’s ‘Please The Cheese’ campaign and bring Mr. Cheddar, the down to earth hero of the TV ad, to life. At each event, Mr. Cheddar will greet consumers with samples and tap into the nation’s love affair with cheese by encouraging them to pose and upload photos on Instagram using the #PleaseTheCheese hashtag.

The tour will take place at 11 events and 12 supermarkets and comprises of 39 live activities across the UK from now until the end of the year. Key dates include Lambeth Country Show in London (21-22 July), Bristol Balloon Fiesta (9-12 August) and Bournemouth Air Festival (30 August-2 September).

At the events, consumers will be able to try different products from the Branston pickle and chutney ranges, accompanied by Cathedral City cheese and Jacob’s crackers from the Branston sampling van. With up to 5,000 samples distributed per day, Branston’s sampling activity aims to reach more than two million consumers in total and recruit a new generation of pickle lovers by reminding them of the delicious taste combination of cheese and pickle.

Branston lunchboxes, key rings and goodie bags will be handed out and consumers will also be given recipe cards, Branston dip pots and money off coupons for Branston pickle.

Nisha George, senior brand manager at brand owner Mizkan, says: “We wanted to bring this association to life in an impactful way to reconnect with our loyal customers, engage a host of new ones and to invigorate the pickle category nationwide.”

The Branston brand is owned by Mizkan Euro, the European subsidiary of Mizkan, a privately-owned Japanese business started in 1804, which is the number one Sushi seasoning supplier in the world. Mizkan is a global business with over 210 years’ experience in producing high quality products. Mizkan Euro brands include Branston Pickle, Hayward’s Pickled Vegetables, Sarson’s Vinegar and Dufrais vinegar.

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Mobile phone network Three will be running a pop-up ‘All You Can Pug’ brunch to celebrate Puggerfly, the star of its latest ad campaign and, the network claims, the world’s first Augmented Reality (AR) pet.

Three has teamed up with the Pug Café, UK’s leading pop-up event provider for pugs, to create an immersive experience for dog owners and admirers alike. A limited number of tickets are available, priced at £5, which entitles the holder to one 75-minute brunch slot including one main breakfast dish, bottomless pastries, prosecco and coffee or tea, as well as food for their dog, if they bring one.

All proceeds from the event will be donated to the Pug Dog Welfare & Rescue Association.

The pop-up ‘All You Can Pug’ brunch, which will take place on Saturday May 12th, follows the recent announcement that Three has added Snapchat to its range of services offered as part of Go Binge, allowing customers to snap, chat and share without using their data allowance. Three also unveiled the new star of its ad campaign, Puggerfly, a squishy-faced, purple-winged pug, created, according to the network, to embody all things social and fun.

Puggerfly allows users to access different consecutive Snapchat lenses across seven days, letting them nurture and love their Puggerfly as he grows from a ball-chasing, rainbow-pooping puppyfly right through to a fully-fledged flying Puggerfly. Snap’s 12 million UK daily active users can interact with the animated dog, no matter what network they are on. Users can feed Puggerfly treats, play ball with it, enjoy sloppy dog kisses and even watch it twerk to dance music. The seven lenses launched on April 26th, one per day; after the seven days are up, they will be available to Snapchat users via Snapcodes that will be incorporated into Three’s UK wide advertising and media campaign.

The Pug Brunch was created and managed by Three’s PR agency, W Communications.

Three’s ‘All You Can Pug Brunch’ will take place simultaneously in London and Liverpool, with dog owners and admirers invited to head to Covent Garden Grind in London and Love Thy Neighbour in Liverpool for bottomless brunch dishes and the chance to pet pugs. Guests also have the opportunity to capture photos of themselves with Puggerfly’s giant rainbow poo statue (recently seen roaming London’s capital’s streets), dress up their pampered pooches as Puggerfly, or sample all seven Puggerfly Snap codes.

Consumers can book tickets for the one day pop-up pug cafes via https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/Liverpool/ and https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/London/.

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Kraft Peanut Butter is running a promotion which allows Canadians separated from their loved ones this holiday season to send them hugs via internet-connected teddy bears. Canadians who use “#KraftBearHugs” on social to share who they would like to give a bear hug to will be entered into a competition to win a pair of Wi-Fi enabled bears.

To launch the promotion, Kraft Canada created 10 foot tall versions of Crunchy and Smoothie, the teddy bears which have been Kraft Peanut Butter’s brand characters in Canada for more than 50 years, and placed them in public spaces in Vancouver and Toronto, so people could send their loved ones virtual hugs from one city to another.

For Canadians who don’t live in Vancouver and Toronto, the also launched smaller plush Crunchy and Smoothie bears with Wi-Fi connectivity, which people can use to share ‘hugs’ over the internet – the bears have bowties which light up when people send virtual hugs.

There are 100 pairs of bears available to be won; the approximate retail value of the prizes is Canadian $40,000. More information about the campaign can be found at kraftbearhugs.com. There is no purchase necessary. To enter, consumers have to create an original social media post consisting of a maximum of 500 characters addressing the question of who they would want to send a bear hug to and why the hug would bring them closer together. Entrants can, depending on what the social media site they are using allows, include pictures and videos.

Entries will be judged on uniqueness, creativity, togetherness and distance, in descending order of importance.

To coincide with the promotion, Kraft Canada released to results of a new survey which found that more than one in three Canadians (37%) will be apart from their family during the holidays. Distance is the main reason many will be separated from their families this holiday season (59%), followed by finances (23%).

Nina Patel, Marketing Director of Brand Build for Kraft Heinz Canada, says: “Kraft Peanut Butter wants to help Canadians stick together – even when they’re physically apart – and there’s no better way to do that, than with the power of a bear hug. Our iconic Crunchy and Smoothie bears have been beloved for generations by Canadians and represent togetherness and that familiar sense of comfort that our loved ones bring.”

Crunchy and Smoothie have been symbols of the Kraft Peanut Butter brand in Canada for over 50 years. Originally, the brand’s glass jars were shaped like teddy bears, and now they appear on the packaging of the jars. In 2014, Kraft Peanut Butter introduced new-look bears (with some controversy from brand fans) and released limited-edition plush teddy bears as part of its ‘Stick Together’ campaign. This campaign was massively successful, and the brand says it is taking it to the next level with the new Wi-Fi-enabled BearHug Bears.

The strategy behind the campaign aims to imbue Kraft Peanut Butter with an emotional value above and beyond pure product benefits.

Kraft worked with marketing agency Rethink, PR agency Edelman and media agency Starcom to create the campaign.

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Tough new rules banning ads and promotions for food and drinks high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) from appearing in children’s non-broadcast media come into effect on Saturday 1 July.

The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP), the body which writes the CAP Code – the rules which marketers in the UK are required to follow, under the country’s highly-regarded self-regulatory system for advertising and marketing – has made the changes to bring the rules covering non-broadcast media (which include the vast majority of promotional campaigns) into line with the rules covering broadcast (TV and radio).

Laura Kelly, Regulatory Adviser at the Institute of Promotional Marketing (IPM), says: “The CAP Code changes affect the way we promote HFSS (high fat, salt or sugar) products to children and families. These changes are a result of industry-wide consultation and represent a significant shift in the way responsible promoters want to market their brands. Agencies need to understand the impacts on campaign planning and make sure they take into account the changes when considering campaigns around HFSS brands. We are ready to advise brands and agencies that plan to use promotional campaigns which are likely to be seen by large number of under-16s on how the rules affect them.”

The IPM is a stakeholder in CAP and is represented on the CAP Committee. It has been closely involved in the process of drafting the latest changes to the CAP Code.

The changes will apply to media targeted at under-16s and will mean a major reduction in the number of ads children see for HFSS products, according to CAP. Where media targets under-12s, then there are even stricter rules which must be followed.

The IPM’s Laura Kelly adds that the new rules are complex and promoters must make sure they understand them. She has written a blog post for the IPM’s website highlighting some of the main issues and also providing links to advice from CAP and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the body which investigates complaints about marketing in the UK, on the new rules.

Particular areas of concern exist around brands where more than half the products count as HFSS (which under the new rules mean even non-HFSS products are subject to the same restrictions) and on-pack and in-store promotions.

HFSS products can still use on-pack and in-store promotions, but any promotional activity must not then appear in broadcast or non-broadcast media advertising.

While the new rules impose new curbs on how HFSS products may be marketed to under-12s, they also relax the rules for products which can be classified as healthy.

So while ads and promotional marketing for HFSS products will not be allowed to use promotions, licensed characters and celebrities popular with children, marketers will now be able to use these techniques to better promote healthier options.

Carey Trevill, Managing Director of the IPM, is the organisation’s representative on the CAP Committee. She comments: “Government has rightly addressed the issue of obesity in this country, asking the marketing community to step up to the plate over the way we self-regulate. The consultation with the advertising and marketing community proactively set in motion the changes we see in the CAP Code now and address how we promote to children and their families. With both CAP and BCAP Members and the wider industry collaborating, consumers and shoppers will see a healthier approach to the way HFSS brands approach campaigns through the new rules.”

Trevill adds: “The industry and the IPM have been communicating this change for some months now and of course we want to ensure our Members are able to translate the new rules to their campaigns without encountering issues. We welcome the changes and look forward to seeing the resulting campaigns that embrace the new ways of working.”

The new rules were created following a full public consultation last year by CAP, and reflect restrictions already in place on TV. The new rules apply to children’s non-broadcast media (including print, posters, cinema, online and in social media). Crucially, ads for HFSS products will no longer be allowed to appear around TV-like content online, such as video-sharing platforms, if it is directed at children.
The new rules come in response to changing media habits amongst young people, with research showing that youngsters aged 5-15 are spending around 15 hours each week online – overtaking time spent watching a TV set. They also respond to wider concerns in society about the public health challenges surrounding childhood obesity and what part the advertising industry can play in helping to change our children’s relationship with less healthy foods.

In summary, the new rules state:

• Ads that directly or indirectly promote an HFSS product cannot appear in children’s media.
• Ads for HFSS products cannot appear in other media where children make up over 25% of the audience.
• If the content targets under-12s, ads for HFSS products will not be allowed to use promotions, licensed characters and celebrities popular with children; advertisers may now use those techniques to better promote healthier options.
• The Department of Health nutrient profiling model will be used to classify which products are HFSS.

CAP recognises the multiple and complex factors, beyond advertising, that can be instrumental in childhood obesity; including parental influence, sedentary lifestyles and education.  While the evidence shows that advertising has a modest effect on children’s food preferences, CAP believes the new ad restrictions will still have a positive impact in reducing harm to children.

Chairman of CAP, James Best said: “The tougher new advertising food rules are a significant and positive change designed to help protect the health and wellbeing of children. These measures demonstrate the advertising industry’s continuing commitment to putting the protection of children at the heart of its work. The new rules will alter the nature and balance of food advertising seen by children and play a meaningful part in helping change their relationship with less healthy foods.”

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To celebrate Mother’s Day in the US, KFC is giving away a free romance novella, ‘Tender Wings of Desire’, featuring founder (and now brand character) Colonel Harland Sanders as the love interest.

The company has made the novella available as an e-book, which can be downloaded for free for a limited time on Amazon.com. KFC also plans to surprise 100 fans on Facebook with the chance to win dinner and a hard copy of the book.

The novella is being given away for free with the KFC $20 Fill Up, which includes eight pieces of Extra Crispy Chicken, a large coleslaw, four biscuits and two large helpings of mashed potatoes and gravy.

George Felix, director of advertising for KFC U.S., said: “The only thing better than being swept away by the deliciousness of our Extra Crispy Chicken is being swept away by Harland Sanders himself. So this Mother’s Day, the bucket of chicken I get for my wife will come with a side of steamy romance novella. Dinner is taken care of and she’ll have the time to escape her busy schedule.”

Set in Victorian England, the novella follows rebellious Lady Madeline Parker, who finally feels like she is in control of her life after running away from Parker Manor and a loveless betrothal. When she finds herself swept into the arms of Harland, a handsome sailor with a mysterious past, she realizes she cannot control how she feels. Madeline must choose between a life of order and a man of passion.

Mother’s Day in the US falls on the second Sunday in May every year (so in 2017 it is May 14) and is KFC’s best-selling day of the year. The restaurant chain says it sees a 40% sales jump, serving about 380,000 families each year on Mother’s Day.

KFC Corporation, based in Louisville, Ky., is the world’s most popular chicken restaurant chain and is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc.

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McVitie’s has been running a four-week experiential tour focusing on major cities and events, sampling its sharing snack, McVitie’s Digestives Nibbles. The activity supported the snack brand’s TV advertising campaign.

The experiential tour, created by agency Sense, saw consumers being given free 120g sample packets of three varieties of the biscuit snack, plus a surprise encounter with the cute baby seal puppet from the brand’s TV campaign.

Where possible, the tour aligned with events that offered perfect ‘sharing moments’, such as Grand National Ladies Day, the Wedding Fair, and Liverpool Food and Drink Festival.

“Using our seal puppet to surprise and delight the public, we distributed over half a million samples during the activation,” says Sweet Biscuits Marketing Director, Kerry Owens. “Connecting directly with people in the real world is a great way to build on the success of our TV campaign by letting consumers try McVitie’s Nibbles for themselves and share them with friends and family.”

“This tactical and effective brand experience is designed to drive trail and awareness of McVitie’s Digestives Nibbles,” adds Sense Senior Account Manager Diana Petre-Mag. “We’re targeting key locations across the UK, including London, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Leeds and Sheffield.”

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Tropicana has launched another on-pack promotion to encourage people to enjoy a ‘Little Glass’ of fruit juice as part of a healthy and balanced diet and is giving away one character glass for every three promotional packs purchased.

Running from March 20^th 2017 until August 20^th 2017, the campaign gives consumers the chance to collect seven different ‘morning mood’ glass designs.

To claim, shoppers need to purchase three promotional Tropicana cartons, enter their details via the dedicated website, upload a picture of their receipt and then pay a certain amount for postage – £1.95 for one glass ranging up to £16.95 for seven glasses.

Tropicana Brand Manager Sophie Giraudel says: “We believe this latest ‘Little Glass’ promotional offer from Tropicana is a fun way to reinforce our messaging from last year, that one glass serves as a convenient and easy way for people to get important vitamins, minerals and one of your five a day.”

Giraudel adds: “There is a Little Glass design for every morning mood, whether you’ve bounced out of bed or pressed the snooze button, the seven designs such as ‘Friyaay’ and ‘Sleepy head’, can perfectly capture this.”

Tropicana ran a ‘Little Glasses with Little Bottles’ promotion at the end of 2016, offering one free glass for every two packs of six 150ml small bottles of juice, with no contribution for postage.

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PG tips is the official Red Nose Day partner for the 2017 charity fundraising initiative, organised by charity Comic Relief.

The brand has launched a #1MillionLaughs campaign to get the public sharing jokes across social media using the hashtag, and has committed to donating £300,000 to this year’s Red Nose Day, which takes place on 24th March 2017. It will be making a donation for every promotional pack sold, plus encouraging PG tips fans to give more.

The #1MillionLaughs campaign will be supported by out-of-home activity and social media support, including sponsored posts on Facebook and Twitter, a new Snapchat filter and a ChatBot.

PG tips has also launched limited edition packs featuring jokes inside to inspire consumers to take part.

The PG tips ChatBot is an online tool which will allow consumers to message the PG tips Monkey brand character directly via @MostFamousMonkey on Facebook Messenger and get jokes back. The ChatBot will also encourage users to donate via the app or ask questions about the charity and what the money is used for.

Fiachra Moloney, PG tips marketing manager at Unilever UK and Ireland, says: “We are thrilled to be supporting Comic Relief through our #1MillionLaughs campaign. We know that UK consumers are passionate about getting behind Red Nose Day and this activity is designed to do just that in a fun and engaging way. The unique ChatBot will give fans the chance to get their own daily dose of Red Nose Day as they receive jokes from Monkey himself.”

Monkey, the brand character who fronts PG Tips’ advertising and marketing, is actually owned by Comic Relief and used by PG Tips under license. Comic Relief has the rights to Monkey as the result of a legal settlement over ownership of the character between the receivers of ITV Digital, the digital pay TV channel which shut in March 2002.

Monkey was created by advertising agency Mother and made by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop (responsible for The Muppets) for ITV Digital’s advertising campaign, which also featured his partner Al (still played today by comedian Johnny Vegas).

Monkey was one of the channel’s few valuable assets, and became the subject of a year-long legal battle which was ended in February 2003 when both parties (Mother and the receivers) agreed to sign over rights to Comic Relief. The character then made a couple of appearances on TV and was the lead character in an as yet un-aired BBC variety show before being reunited with Johnny Vegas in a TV ad for PG Tips in 2007.

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GSK’s Aquafresh oral care brand has linked with Comic Relief 2017 and will be donating 10p from the sale of every specially themed pack from the Little Teeth, My Big Teeth and Complete Care ranges. Promotional packs will also offer consumers the chance to win Snuffles, a “huffing, puffing, burping, singing” Aquafresh Bonkers Red Nose character brush timer.

The dental care brand is the latest to team up with Red Nose Day 2017, which takes place on 24th March.

Katharine Osmond, Aquafresh senior brand manager, says: “With an astounding 46% of eight­ year olds experiencing tooth decay in their primary teeth, it’s more important than ever for brands and retailers to work together to encourage good oral care habits from an early age. Our exciting partnership with Red Nose Day, our eye­catching branded packaging and on­pack promotion will create standout on shelf and in stores, and help to increase the demand of shoppers looking to make brush time more enjoyable for children with the help of ‘Snuffles’.”

There are 20,000 brush timers to be won, with 222 on offer every day. The promotional period runs until 31st March 2017, although there will be a final wrap-up draw for any entries received in April.

To enter the competition, shoppers have to go to www.aquafresh.co.uk/winbonkersbrushtimers, input the 8-digit URN reference number found on the inside of the pack and register their name and email address.

There is a No Entry Necessary route for consumers living in Northern Ireland.

Aquafresh has committed to raising £200,000 for Comic Relief. Additionally, Aquafresh has helped the Comic Relief team create a booster pack of materials for schools, containing fun ideas and materials to help make the most of their Red Nose Day fundraising.

Other consumer brands linking with Red Nose Day this year include PG Tips with its #1MillionLaughs, Bel UK with a limited edition Babybel range and Mars’ confectionery brands with the #bakeamillion promotion.

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Cereal giant Kellogg will be adding a new range of ‘Stretch ‘n’ Sip’ collectable spoons as promotional items in special packs of Coco Pops, Rice Krispies, Frosties and Coco Pops Croc Prints. The new promotion kicks off in January 2017.

The extendible spoons, which double-up as straws, follow on from Kellogg’s Colour-changing Magic Spoons promotion launched in the UK earlier this year, where special spoons were given away that changed colour in hot or cold milk.

The ‘Stretch ‘n’ Sip’ promotion will be running from January until spring 2017. The spoons are available in three different designs, featuring Coco the Monkey, Tony the Tiger and Croc.

Kellogg’s Sales Director for the Speciality Channel, Nick Dawson, says: “Kellogg’s has a long-standing tradition of bringing fun to the breakfast table. Over the years, families have loved collecting our giveaways and there is a real nostalgia for our gifts. Therefore, we have decided to launch the ‘Stretch ‘n’ Sip’ spoon as part of an on-pack fun box promotion as a driver for sales in the first quarter of the year.”

Dawson adds: “Our customers are loyal to our brands and love our gifts, in the last year alone we have shipped more than eight million ‘Magic Spoons’. We understand the power of the gift and believe it will be a real sales driver to kick off 2017.”

The promotion will feature across promotional packs of Coco Pops 800g, Rice Krispies 700g, Frosties 750g and Coco Pops Croc Prints.

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