Tetley goes totally random in first work from 303 MullenLowe
Tetley is attempting to reposition for a new generation of tea drinkers in its first campaign since appointing 303 MullenLowe as its lead integrated comms partner in December.
The integrated campaign, ‘Spill the Tea’, taps into the acts of exchanging gossip and confessions over a cup of tea, as part of the global tea brand’s ongoing brand transformation.
Aiming to tackle young consumers (aged 18-35) tendency to choose other beverage options over a cup of tea, the campaign’s slightly kooky tone seeks to redefine the role of tea in young people’s social lives.
The leading 30 second TVC sees a woman squealing like a kettle, in anticipation to share some gossip with a friend. Her friend looks on in confusion as she turns to see a person dressed as a lobster chopping up bath bubbles in the bedroom. The obvious resolution, according to the spot, is to put the kettle on, and share a cup of tea.
303 MullenLowe managing director, Joanna Gray, said: “The fact is, unlike alcohol which comes with a spectrum of consequences increasingly shunned by younger Australians, or coffee which is used more as an accelerant while on the go, tea has the unique power to make people pause, be more present and let the conversation start flowing. This is something we identified in the strategy development as a growing need among a generation that’s ironically feeling more disconnected than ever, and knew it would form an important consideration in the creative.”
Chief creative officer Bart Pawlak noted that the creative solution addressed these issues: “Our brief was to take Tetley by the string and unceremoniously yank it out of an arguably stuffy tea category, moving the brand away from the familiar world of wellness, tea cosies and quaint hill country plantations. And, in the process, reimagining tea’s role for a new generation.
“Positioning Tetley as a catalyst for the type of connection that, if online habits are anything to go by, younger Australians love to indulge in most – sharing hot gossip, scintillating secrets and eyebrow-raising revelations – in a way that is perhaps more present than what coffee or alcohol can offer. Best of all, we had a ready-made brand platform, entrenched in the target audience’s current vernacular. All that was left for us to do was spill it.”
Divya Shrivastava, TATA head of marketing, ANZ, said: “The challenge for us was to find a way to reinvigorate the Tetley brand and in doing so reposition the entire category in the minds of younger audiences – without alienating our loyal 55+ customer base. The result is a brand platform with a tonality that is unfamiliar in what can sometimes be a conservative tea category, and as such it quite effortlessly elevates Tetley out of the clutter. And it will no doubt see more Australians Spill the Tea with Tetley.”
303 MullenLowe creative leads Katie Moore and Nick Sellars concluded: “Our inspiration came from real, trending Instagram and Facebook posts. We held up a mirror to our audience and reflected the O-M-G moments that matter to them; then we flipped the switch on how these moments are spilt.
“In our film and poster work our irreverent approach was designed to compete for our distracted audience’s attention and convey the power of tea to totally immerse those sharing it, in the moment. TL;DR — no matter what’s brewing, we made Tetley synonymous with spilling the tea.”
The campaign is live across film, outdoor, radio and social.
Credits
TATA Consumer Products
Head of Marketing, ANZ – Divya Shrivastava
Country Head, ANZ – Scott Wackrow
Marketing Assistant – Nidhi Gupta
303 MullenLowe
Chief Creative Officer – Bart Pawlak
Creative Lead – Katie Moore
Creative Lead – Nicholas Sellers
Senior Art Director – Steve Lorimer
Senior Copywriter – Steve Straw
Managing Director – Joanna Gray
Group Business Director – Troy Parsonson
Senior Business Manager – Johanna-Maria Kallaste
Chief Strategy Officer – Jody Elston
Head of Strategy – Smiljka Dimitrijevic
Head of Design – Alby Furfaro
Head of Production – Skye Lanser
Senior Broadcast Producer – Honae MacNeill
Social Media Director – Harry Meech
Production Partners
Production Company – Scoundrel
Director – James Dive
Executive Producer – Adrian Shapiro
Editor – Adam Wills
Illusion CGI
Music and Sound Company – Sonar Music
Sound Designer – Tim Bridge
Media Agency – Wavemaker
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topics
303 Mullenlowe
Bart Pawlak
Divya Shrivastava
Joanna Gray
Katie Moore
Nick Sellars
Tata Consumer Products
Tetley
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