Walkers, the number one savoury snacking brand in the UK, is adding excitement to its latest sandwich-inspired flavours campaign with a new TV advert and pop-up crisp sarnie shop.
The main campaign revolves around a tie-up with iconic sauces brand Heinz to launch six limited-edition flavours, including Bacon & Tomato Ketchup, Ham & Mustard and Cheese, Cucumber & Salad Cream, and offers consumers the chance to win £10,000 every week, as well as ‘sarnie’ themed prizes and free crisps.
In the new TV advert, brand ambassador Gary Lineker will be joined by ‘cheeky chappie’ Paddy McGuiness to run a club serving only crisp sarnies. The new TV creative, which sees Gary and Paddy take over a real café, will be launching on 1st September 2016, and begins with Gary saying: “We are here to see what people think of Walkers new range of sandwich flavoured crisps.” The advert continues with Gary in the kitchen creating crisp sandwiches whilst Paddy serves the customers. There is a surprised reaction from the crowd as Paddy presents them with a Walkers spin on a crisp sandwich. During filming one lucky customer received £10,000 in a sandwich.
To support the campaign, Walkers will be offering members of the public and crisp sarnie fans the opportunity to buy tickets to visit the ‘Walkers Crisp Sarnie Club’ pop-up. Visitors will be invited to an unassuming newsagent in London where they will go through a hidden door behind a crisps display to enter the exclusive crisp sarnie experience.
The Walkers Crisp Sarnie Club will give ticket holders the chance to immerse themselves in a mixture of experiences, such as ‘Build Your Own Sarnie’, an interactive menu, a squidgy ‘bread bed’ and a range of crisp sandwiches.
Customers will be able to bag themselves a ticket to the pop-up shop by purchasing them online. The pop-up will be located on London’s Tooley Street, by London Bridge station, and will open from 8th September until 1st October.
Thomas Barkholt, Marketing Director at Walkers, comments: “Our new ad and experiential experience are great ways to drive further excitement behind our on-pack Flavours promotion. The pop-up shop is a brand new concept for us and we are sure it will give consumers an unforgettable experience.”
Creative agency INITIALS is responsible for the experiential development of the campaign. Production was handled by The Halo group, working closely with INITIALS.
Rachel Bateman, head of live engagement at INITIALS, added: “Working on the Walkers Crisp Sarnie Club has been a fantastic opportunity to evolve the way in which we treat live activity, adding a whole new level of exclusivity, quirkiness and theatre as well as a feeling of community by creating a members club. We hope people enjoy the experience.”
Walkers is owned by PepsiCo. PepsiCo generated more than $63 billion in net revenue in 2015, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay (Walkers sister brand), Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo’s product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.
