HHCL & Partners has created a spoof helpline as part of a TV
campaign to back a promotion for Unilever Bestfoods' Pot Noodle
brand.
The "Not Poodle" ads will run for one month in a bid to bolster the
brand's dominance of the snack noodle sector and compete with the media
exposure of brands such as Batchelors Super Noodles. Consumers who find
a small plastic poodle in their Pot Noodle, renamed Not Poodle for the
eight-week promotion, stand to win £10,000 "compensation".
One 40-second ad, "Ewan Court", sends up the kind of legal compensation
ads normally seen during daytime TV, which encourage consumers to seek
damages for the most petty things.
Ewan Court, the managing director of a fictitious firm, offers helpful
advice to people finding poodles in their noodles and directs viewers to
the helpline.
Unilever's UK snacks marketing manager, Paula Quazi, said the ads and
promotion were a perfect match with Pot Noodle's target audience of 16-
to 24-year-olds. "Most promotions are pretty old-hat these days, and we
thought it would be a laugh for our consumers if we did something a bit
more daring," she added.
The "It's Not Poodle" campaign was art directed by Mike Oughton, written
by Zane Radcliffe and directed by Jeff Stark through Stark Films.
The ads follow Pot Noodle's animated "It's all me, me, me" TV ads in
April and the "Big Dave" campaign, created for the launch of King Pot
Noodle in October 2000.
Media buying and strategy is by Initiative Media. Initiative's media
strategist, Julie Blake, said: "We're trying to generate as much
awareness and excitement about the brand as possible in a short time,
and TV is the best vehicle." There is no press, poster or web presence
for the campaign.
Pot Noodle is the market leader in the snack noodles sector and accounts
for more than 70 per cent by value.
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