Online takeaway service JUST EAT is following the launch of its “Don’t Cook, JUST EAT” challenger brand positioning in September 2012 with an on-air and social media event spanning the course of a week.
The £1 million multi-channel campaign challenges the world of celebrity chefs with the kidnapping of TV chef Antony Worrall Thompson. On Saturday (2 March) viewers of Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway saw the first 90” one-off TV ad created by VCCP capturing the moment of Worrall Thompson’s kidnap in a suburban street at the hands of brand ambassador Mr Mozzarella and his crew.
In the closing frame, Mr Mozzarella promises to keep Worrall Thompson in captivity until he sees the error of his celebrity chef ways and invited viewers to follow his plight via a dedicated microsite developed by digital specialists Maido. The site allows consumers to “get their own back” on celebrity chefs with new interactive gaming content revealed on the site daily.
In the lead up to Saturday’s kidnap 10” teaser ads were aired on ITV and off-air a clean graffiti campaign was executed on the steps of top London restaurants including Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen and Gordon Ramsey at Claridges. Online, JUST EAT road-blocked You Tube’s homepage with an expandable masthead banner with content swapped out for a “Teach Antony Worrall Thompson a Lesson” post the 90” ad and included pre-roll, linking consumers to the interactive “Fish Slap” game. Media strategy for the campaign was handled by WCRS/Engine and media buying by Havas Media.
Worrall Thompson’s fate is to be revealed in a 60” closing advert this Saturday (9 March) during Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway. The multi-channel initiative is supported by email communication to JUST EAT’s two million strong customer database and through engaging the brand’s 900,000 Facebook fans and Twitter followers.
“This campaign aims to broaden the realms of traditional advertising, with a mash-up of on-air, digital, PR and social activity to create heat around the TV campaign. Like all good plots, this one has a beginning, middle and end. We bookend two Saturday nights to start and conclude the story, with daily social and digital content adding drama during the week of Worrall Thompson's captivity. There will be a few surprises, twists and turns, throughout the week, before the story reaches its climax on Saturday night,” commented head of brand marketing at JUST EAT, Richard Murfitt.