Premier Foods Premieres a New Character

Premier Foods’ Ambrosia dessert brand has a rich history when it comes to memorable advertising. The “Devon knows how they make it so creamy” strapline is a strong asset, and many a 90s TV viewer will recall “Oo arr, it’s Ambrosia”, sung to the tune of the Village People’s “Go West”.

So the brand’s return to TV after 4 years away needed to renew those old memories as well as delight viewers all over again. One way might have been to do a remake of those old ads – but the very heavy regional stereotyping in them might not work quite so well in 2021.

So Premier Foods have gone a different – but just as effective – route. They’ve turned instead to a brand new character, an animated mole who we see emerge from its burrow at the beginning of the ad and take a flight on a balloon – stopping along the way to acquire a berry and dip it into some surprised picnickers’ Ambrosia.

It’s a literal flight of fantasy which touches on the brand’s origins – lots of rolling countryside, and the “Devon knows…” strapline is back – but also gets its essence, as an indulgent (and slightly cheeky) treat. As for Moley the mole, it’s clearly a character that could return several times, becoming a well-known and loved Fluent Device for the brand along the lines of the Meerkats.

So this is charming advertising with populist ambitions. Do its scores match up? They do. The ad, which first aired in December, was a huge success with viewers – a mighty 5.6-Stars and a 90 Brand Fluency score, showing it’s very strongly branded as well as highly appealing. Only the short-term Spike score is less than exceptional, probably because this is a gentle rather than particularly dynamic ad. But there will – we hope! – be plenty of opportunities for other, more exciting, Moley adventures to come.