Created by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, "No drama" features a dad and son engrossed in a shoot ‘em up video game.
When the mum of the family announces that dinner’s ready, the dad, played by West, launches into a misplaced monologue about the seriousness of the game they are playing. But upon hearing that dinner is "spag bol", they both dash to the table.
The ad debuts tonight with a roadblock across all major commercial channels, including ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky. It is set to run globally on TV and online. It will appear on TV in the UK until at least October, but a spokeswoman said it was likely to run into 2018.
The spot was created by copywriter Diccon Driver and art director Alan Wilson at AMV, and directed by Gary Freedman through Independent Films. Media planning was handled by MediaCom, and media buying by Zenith.
Clarence Mak, global chief marketing and customer officer, Mars Food, said: "This campaign stems from what we know about families – sometimes dinnertime can be the most stressful part of the day. We wanted to show the power of our brand – a delicious, tempting meal can bring every family together."
Dolmio is the UK’s best selling cooking sauce brand, but is facing a situation in which sales of cooking sauces are declining. In the year to last October, according to Nielsen figures, Dolmio's sales were down 6.6% to £118.2m, while total cooking sauce sales fell 4.8% to £600m.
West is best known for playing Baltimore detective Jimmy McNulty in HBO series The Wire, serial killer Fred West in ITV drama Appropriate Adult, and cheating husband Noah Holloway in US series The Affair.
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