New Toronto agency MonkWilliams launched its first public campaign with a breakfast cereal: Weetabix.
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The “You Are What You Weetabix” print campaign emphasizes the simple, iconic nature of the brand, says Brad Monk, creative director at MonkWilliams.
“We thought, ‘let’s not make it look like it’s new and improved.’ The best thing about it is that it’s always been good. The beauty is that it hasn’t changed forever; it’s the same cereal you have on the first day of school, even the packaging is relatively the same. And I think that’s great. So that was our starting point.”
The ads launched in English and French magazines across Canada, as well as on radio. The campaign is also being promoted through a giveaway on City’s Breakfast Television. The ads feature the tagline, and include a faux nutritional facts panel that includes ingredients like “food savvy” and “beach lover.”
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The BT contest asks people to create their own nutrition side panel; co-incidentally, a third grade teacher in Abbotsford, B.C., saw the print ads in Chatelaine and decided to have her kids write their own nutritional facts in a similar classroom assignment. MonkWilliams will post some of her students’ answers on Facebook, and hopes it will encourage others to follow suit and fill in their own.
Weetabix, which is over 30 years old, currently faces a challenging market in which cereal sales have steadily declined in the face of competition from breakfast alternatives, time-strapped consumers and health concerns about ingredients.
“For more than 30 years, the brand has maintained a low profile, and we felt it was time to take the gloves off and make a little noise,” said Sheldon Gasee, senior national brand manager at Weetabix.
