Twinings on ditching Nigella Lawson: we needed something new
Nigella Lawson: ditched by Twinings
Twinings has parted ways with brand ambassador Nigella Lawson because the tea brand is “looking for new ways to communicate”, the marketing director has told Mumbrella.
Twinings launched a $10m campaign at the start of the week that did away with the use of celebrities. The British celebrity chef had fronted Twinings since 2008, appearing in six commercials.
Marketing head Gavin Vandeligt said: “Nigella was fantastic for the brand and really helped to lift the lid on specialty tea. But we just feel the time is right for a new communications idea to support our rapidly growing consumer base.”
Is “something new” code for “it didn’t work”?
Just asking.
Saw this on TV the other night. Too bad it includes cliche after cliche about women. And it entrenches Twinings as special, despite appearing to want to do the opposite. Nigella on the other hand makes it cosy, sexy and everyday.
It’s just TEA!! And if the new ads are cliched the Lawson ones were awful. Can’t stand her air of smug superiority. It says ‘look at me, look at my perfect life, you too can be perfect if you just drink this TEA’ Good riddance I say
Same broad strategy as the Tetley campaign but without the humour. And while we’re on gratuitous criticism of other people’s work (would never do it in person), who chose that dreadful grating soundtrack?
The ad lacked warmth associated with tea, lacked any sense of comfort and actually made me uncomfortable with the generalisations it made about its target audience. the sentiment feels really fake and superficial – I really felt it was talking down to me…
Strategy changes all the time – some things work, some things don’t. I’ve seen these new ads a couple of times and while I like the message that good things should be enjoyed every day, I think the production could have done more with the choice of music, voiceover and level of emotion generated.