Vimto commercial I looked at to help with my research
Vimto producers successfully targeted their product by using comedians and celebrity’s to portray their product in the humorous and fun way in which they wanted.
Vimto is a soft drink originating from the United Kingdom. It was first manufactured as a health tonic in cordial form, then decades later as a carbonated drink. It contains the juice of grapes, raspberries and blackcurrants.
Vimto was created in 1908 in the small village of Timperley in Cheshire, England, by John Noel Nichols a wholesaler of spices and medicines. It was originally sold under the name Vim Tonic, which Nichols shortened to Vimto in 1912. Vimto was originally registered as a health tonic or medicine, which was then re-registered in 1913 as a cordial. 1970, Vimto was launched in the United States, home of twin giants Coca Cola and Pepsi!
During the 1990s, Vimto print advertisements used the popular character Purple Ronnie, along with slightly rude poems by Giles Andreae, the creator of Purple Ronnie. In 2003, Purple Ronnie was dropped, and a new creative direction was adopted, revolving around the benefits of Shlurpling the Purple. This, in turn, led to the launch in 2006 of Billy and his Dad's Pants - a modern-day morality story in which, despite turning up at the swimming pool with his Dad's pants in the middle of his roll, Billy wins out with ingenuity and humour. The theme tune 'Dad's Pants' become something of a cult classic, and was based on the Loudon Wainwright III song, "Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road". A sculpture entitled "A Monument to Vimto" (1992), carved out of an oak tree from a sustainable forest by Kerry Morrison, is situated on Granby Row in central Manchester. The sculpture commemorates the fact that Vimto was originally produced on this site.
There have been several major advertising campaigns to promote Vimto.
Purple Ronnie - Purple Ronnie was a crudely-drawn stick figure cartoon character designed by Giles Andreae, although originally created by Jo Dobbs. The figure is now used on greetings cards.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rs7AVoHRN3A Seriously Mixed Up Fruit -Seriously Mixed Up Fruit is the new strapline for Vimto and replaced Shlurple the Purple in 2009. This campaign features anthropomorphised raspberry, grape and blackcurrant characters engaging in various activities which inevitably ends up with them being 'splatted', thus becoming the drink.
4th may 2010
“Vimto is about to burst into homes this summer with a fully integrated nationwide advertising campaign on TV, radio and online. From the beginning of May , Vimto will launch its ‘Seriously Mixed Up Fruit’ advertising campaign on national TV and online during internet replays of popular programmes that appeal to the brand’s teen target audience, including Hollyoaks, Glee and Big Brother. This is complemented by a nationwide radio campaign which features a new advert for Cherry Vimto and introduces the brand’s new cherry twin characters – Les Cherries – for the first time. Cherry Vimto will also be sponsoring the ‘The Big Top 40′, the national music chart show that is syndicated to 145 different commercial stations reaching over 2million teenage listeners across the UK.
Creating awareness with the brand’s teenage audience will be maximised by a Cherry Vimto sampling programme taking place in under-18s club nights throughout the year. There will also be a digital programme which includes the release of new branded ‘advergames’ and social media content to appeal to young consumers. Vimto’s Senior Brand Manager, Emma Hunt, said: “Vimto has had a fantastic year, growing by +28%. To ensure this continues we’re increasing our marketing investment by 20% to drive awareness and trial of Vimto and new Cherry Vimto over the crucial summer trading period.
“Our strong multimedia programme will ensure we reach our target teen audience across the UK and this together with the brand’s excellent growth this year should give retailers the confidence to stock the Vimto range.”
Vimto has developed its fun and quirky identity since its very first televised commercial in 1956 and, over the years, it has tickled the nation through its campaigns with a little help from well known celebrities of their time including Derek Griffiths, the Roly Polys, John Peel, Angus Deayton and Matt Lucas. Aimed to be energetic, young hearted and family orientated, the adverts have featured funny scenarios, catchy tunes and memorable slogans. Distinct characters created to help consumers identify with the brand have included Max the British Bulldog in the 1980s and cheeky Purple Ronnie from the 1990s as well as today’s schoolboy ‘Billy’. A campaign introduced in 2005 introduced the phrase’ Shlurple the Purple’, which is still used today as the official Vimto slogan. I think this slogan works well as its simple, different and remembered.
