Jammie Dodgers Makes Mischief in Brand-defining Ad
Jammie Dodgers
Jam Packed With Mischief
“Mischief” is the theme of Jammie Dodgers’ newest ad – their first on TV for a decade – and mischief has part of the biscuit brand’s DNA from the very start. The jam-and-shortcake treat is named after Roger The Dodger, a character from The Beano comic who gets up to all kinds of pranks and schemes.
So it’s fitting that the current ad, made with McCann Manchester, has some of the joyful naughtiness of a cartoon strip, complete with wicked grins, water pistol fights and a daring scheme to nab those delicious biscuits.
It’s the perfect TV reintroduction to one of Britain’s best loved biscuits. Jammie Dodgers aren’t only a staple of kids’ birthday parties (though just try getting away without them), they’re extremely popular with adults too. That’s reflected in a campaign full of cross-generational fun but with music made to remind Millennial parents of their own childhoods: the Chemical Brothers’ 1997 banger “Block Rockin’ Beats”. As well as being a nostalgic winner, it’s the perfect action movie soundtrack for the slow motion water fights and cool poses the ad revels in.
As you’ll know if you’ve read Orlando Wood’s Look Out and Lemon, cultural references like this are a great way to grab the attention of the right hemisphere of the brain, which notices connections and relationships and helps build longer-term associations for brands. That in turn leads to positive predispositions among customers who aren’t currently in the ‘buying window’ for Jammie Dodgers, as well as those who are. The result – long-term growth. This ad has plenty of other elements which stimulate right-brain attention too, like strong characters, non-verbal communication, and a clear narrative.
We can measure how much potential the ad has to drive that long-term response with Test Your Ad, which measures long- and short-term potential. And Jammie Dodgers perform very well – a 4.5-Star Rating considerably ahead of the high 3.5-Star Rating average in the baked goods category.
The fact that biscuit brands tend to make good ads is why it’s smart of Jammie Dodgers to have returned to TV with an ad that doesn’t just entertain and engage, it does so in a way which says so much about their brand’s personality. Mischief is a strong platform for them, one that differentiates them from rivals in the biscuit aisle with plenty of storytelling potential. That’s underlined by strong long-term and short-term scores for this opening ad. Let the mischief begin!