JUST EAT stands up to celebrity chefs by ‘kidnapping’ Antony Worrall Thompson in a ‘never been done before’ TV advertising and social event spanning the next week. http://www.just-eat.co.uk/
Following the launch of its new “Don’t Cook, JUST EAT” challenger brand positioning in September 2012, JUST EAT, the world’s leading online takeaway service, continues on their mission to save the nation from the tyranny of home cooking with a never-been-done-before on-air and social media event, that spans across just one week.
This pioneering £1m multi-channel campaign, led by JUST EAT’s hapless, motley crew of rebellious takeaway chefs – including the infamous Mr. Mozzarella (@The_Mozz) – challenges the world of celebrity chefs and their endless demands on hardworking consumers to cook up cordon bleu meals at home, with the kidnapping of TV chef Antony Worrall Thompson on air, Saturday 2nd March on ITV.
The first 90” one-off TV ad, created by VCCP, directed by Simon Levene and produced by Mustard, aired during Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway on Saturday 2nd March on ITV reaching 8 million viewers. The ad, shot using handheld cameras and CCTV style footage, captured the moment of Worrall Thompson’s kidnap in a suburban street at the hands of Mr. Mozzarella and his crew.
In the closing frame, Mr. Mozzarella promises viewers to keep Antony Worrall Thompson in captivity until he sees the error of his celebrity chef ways and invites viewers to follow his plight via the campaign’s dedicated microsite, JUSTEATkidnap.co.uk, developed by digital specialists, Maido. Here, consumers are encouraged to “get their own back” on celebrity chefs and help turn Worrell Thompson into a takeaway lover who understands the nation’s need to take a night off from the kitchen, with new video and interactive gaming content revealed on the site daily. One game, entitled “Fish Slap” – which invites users to select from a range of fish “weapons” (from a sprat to fresh squid!) to slap Worrall Thompson with – has already witnessed 250,000 plays since its launch on Saturday night.
To build intrigue and momentum in the lead up to Saturday’s kidnap advert, 10” teaser ads featuring Mr. Mozzarella and the #JUSTEATkidnap call to action, were aired during primetime on ITV. Off-air, a clean graffiti campaign was executed outside London’s top restaurants, including Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen and Gordon Ramsey at Claridges, cheekily prompting celebrity chefs that their game was up and that all would be revealed on TV Saturday night.
Online, JUST EAT road-blocked YouTube’s home page with an expandable masthead banner, carrying the same warning to celebrity chefs reaching. This content was swapped out for “Teach Antony Worrall Thompson a Lesson” post the 90” ad and included pre-roll, linking consumers to the interactive “Fish Slap” game. The masthead had 11.5 million impressions.
This multi-channel campaign is also being supported through email communication to JUST EAT’s 2 million customer database and mobilising JUST EAT’s 900,000 Facebook fans and Twitter followers to join the rebellion against Worrall Thompson and celebrity chefs.
Antony Worrall Thompson’s fate will be revealed in a 60” closing advert on Saturday 9th March from 7.35pm, Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway on ITV.
Richard Murfitt, Head of Brand Marketing at JUST EAT, comments: “This campaign aims to broaden the realms of traditional advertising, with a mash-up of on-air, digital, PR and social activity to create heat around the TV campaign. Like all good plots, this one has a beginning, middle and end. We bookend two Saturday nights to start and conclude the story, with daily social and digital content adding drama during the week of Worrall Thompson’s captivity. There will be a few surprises, twists and turns, throughout the week, before the story reaches its climax on Saturday night.
Murfitt continues: “Our aim throughout the campaign is to give voice to millions of frustrated Brits who want to cry with anguish every time they are told by a celebrity chef to whip up 15 minute cordon bleu meal at home. With this landmark style of campaigning and storytelling, we hope will finally prick the celebrity chef bubble that has simply got out of hand in recent years.”
Media strategy was handled by WCRS / Engine and media buying by Havas Media.
To follow Antony Worrall Thompson’s plight in captivity, follow on twitter #JUSTEATkidnap or go to the microsite JUSTEATkidnap.co.uk, where you can pick up the story today.