John West fisherman steals from bear cub in new campaign

Canned fish brand John West has released a humourous campaign that showcases the lengths it will go to for the highest quality product, including theft.

The platform, developed with creative agency Clemenger BBDO, reintroduces John West through a 30-second film.

Set on the banks of a river in Alaska, a nature documentary-style voiceover narrates how a mother bear teaches her cub how to fish. The young animal is successful, and when it presents its catch to its mother, the adult bear reveals itself to be a John West fisherman in disguise. The fisherman runs off with the shocked cub’s fish.

It is the largest campaign John West has had in years, according to Simplot Australia’s (the owner of John West) marketing manager, brand communications, Eleanor Henry, in a media release.

Enjoying Mumbrella? Sign up for our free daily newsletter.

According to a Clemenger BBDO spokesperson, the agency won the campaign in January last year, and collaborated with Simplot Australia “to find the right creative idea, before testing and then moving into production”.

“Unfortunately the weather gods weren’t too kind to us and we needed to move the shoot date a few times, however the sun was shining on our shoot day in Queenstown New Zealand, which was all that mattered,” the spokesperson said in a comment sent to Mumbrella.

“The CGI production took approximately 12 weeks post the shoot so we had all the work wrapped up prior to Christmas which was a great feeling ready for the campaign to go live in February.”

The film’s twist of having a John West fisherman impersonate a bear was conceptualised in the early stages of the creative process. But due to a lack of “punch”, the idea was set aside.

“On its own it [the idea] lacked a strong comedic punch, and was initially put to one side,” the Clems spokesperson said.

“It wasn’t until later that we landed on the cute story of a cub and its mother, a story that takes an unexpected turn, that we knew we had found our idea.”

In the media release, Katie Saunders, senior director of APAC marketing at Simplot Australia, explained the ethos behind using the brand’s heritage to appeal to modern consumers.

“With a brand as iconic as John West, evolution had to be grounded in strategy. Staying true to our roots allowed us to deliver a modern iteration that feels fresh and relevant without losing the trust and familiarity that define John West,” Saunders said.

Clems’ creative director, Tian Murphy, said the platform was an opportunity to revitalise the John West brand and help it assert its in-market dominance.

“It’s a brilliant opportunity to bring to life a campaign that follows some of the most loved ads of all time, and to help re-establish John West’s dominance as the number one brand in the category,” Murphy said in the release.

John West is considered a marketing pioneer for its early adoption of TV jingles and its famous “Bear” advertisement that launched in the UK in 2000. By the mid-00s, “Bear” — which features a fisherman fighting a bear for its fish — was estimated to have been watched over 300 million times.

The current John West campaign will run across Australia and New Zealand using in-store, social, TV, out of home, and TV channels.

Credits

Client: Simplot Australia

Katie Saunders – Senior Director Marketing, APAC
Jessica Romeo – Director Marketing Communications, Digital and Insights
Eleanor Henry – Marketing Manager, Brand and Communications
Bec de Xavier Pinto – Senior Marketing Manager, Pantry
Ellie Gulliver – Marketing Manager, Shelf Seafood
Deb Fabris – Marketing Specialist, Shelf Seafood

Agency: Clemenger BBDO

Production Co: The Sweetshop

Director: Max Barden

Stills Photographer / Social content: Ross Brown

Music: Birdbrain

VFX / Animation: Alt. VFX

Media: OMD Australia

Related Content

News Bluescope celebrates 60 years of Colorbond steel

News Ocean Blue heads north for frosty campaign with Sickdogwolfman