The company, which owns some of the UK's biggest brands in their sector, including Jelly Babies and Murray Mints, is making Bertie the figurehead of Bassett's consumer advertising. Previously, the character, who was last seen on British television screens ten years ago, had been used only to promote Liquorice Allsorts.
CTB, whose image has endured a difficult year as the result of its controversial 'Get Active!' schools marketing programme, has decided to bring back Bertie to create a more unified identity for its 25-strong portfolio of Bassett's sweets. The products, each of which will feature Bertie on its packaging, generate collective sales of about £120m a year.
Created by Euro RSCG Wnek Gosper, the first ad in the series will air next Monday to promote Liquorice Allsorts. The execution uses the strapline 'Bassett's: where life is sweet', and shows Bertie asking whether his date for the evening is only after him for his body.
Further ads promoting other Bassett's products will break later in the year. The character's revival follows an 18-month project undertaken by US consultancy Character.
A CTB spokesman said: "To millions of people Bertie Bassett is a real character made of sweets. The move to build on Bertie's personality, as well as his brand icon status, is logical."
The revamp follows a call from CTB rival Nestle Rowntree's sales director Peter Basham at the weekend for confectionery manufacturers to work more closely with retailers to make the category more exciting for consumers.
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