Meme Magic Puts Noosa At Number 1

Small brands often have to work harder and be more creative in pursuit of attention – yoghurt brand Noosa has a tradition of producing smart creative work that dodges category codes and cliches. With agency BSSP it was one of the first brands to tap into the “oddly satisfying” trend of soothing internet videos, and its new campaign, “Tastes Like, Feels Like”, draws on an even more ubiquitous aspect of online culture: memes.

Memes are a tricky area for advertisers to get involved with. The simple truth is you’ll never be cool or caught-up enough to win the respect of the ‘extremely online’ meme culture mavens with an advert (and even if you did they wouldn’t admit it). And the further down that path you go the more you risk baffling the general public.

But there’s now a 20-year history of meme culture to draw on and a visual grammar – kittens, rainbows, pixel art – that’s not just well-known to most people, it’s actively fun and nostalgic. That’s the stuff BSSP and Noosa cleverly draw on in this ad, which uses meme-style visuals of cute animals and retro graphics to convey that Noosa’s new Frozen Yoghurt Gelato tastes and feels awesome.

And the idea definitely gets across. “Tastes Like, Feels Like” scores a mighty 5.4-Stars on the Test Your Ad platform. In fact it’s the highest scoring of almost 600 Dairy Products ads in the database, a terrific achievement for a small brand. The memes and visuals were all carefully chosen by BSSP but the finished product feels like a spontaneous blast of upbeat joy.

Launching new product lines into a crowded and growing space is one of the hardest briefs advertisers face. Noosa show how to do it well, relying on feeling and fun not dry explanations, but not letting the product speak entirely for itself – which risks promoting the category over the brand. By looking to 21st century pop culture for its familiar images and vibe, it stands out at a time most brands are stuck in the 80s or 90s. Overall it’s a delightful piece of work, which shows, not tells the viewer that Noosa’s new line is a bit of permissible indulgence: something you can enjoy guilt free, like a silly meme.