Cuppa. Splosh. Brew. Rosie Lee. Call it what you may, but there is no denying the humble beverage made from pouring hot water over the leaves of Camellia sinensis is as British as fish and chips, full English breakfast, Sunday roast and beer.
Enter a new campaign by Tetley, created by Pablo, which is aiming to prove Tetley is Britain’s Tea.
With the Tetley Tea Folk from the 80s and 90s long gone, Pablo’s work follows on from that of Neverland, which devised the positioning ‘For the love of tea, For the Love of Tetley’.
The new work is designed to celebrate just what it means to be “Britain’s Tea”, getting to the heart of what is really going on across the country every second when we are making and sharing cups of tea with one another.
How so often the act of making a cup of tea for someone expresses more than our words ever can. By owning this emotive space for tea, Tetley believes it can become not just Britain’s best known tea brand, but its most-loved.
In “The Crush”, tea helps a nervous student pluck up the courage to initiate a conversation with his romantic interest across the room. In “Twinkletoes”, a married couple use tea to lift the mood after an awkward foray into Salsa dancing. In “Timeless”, we see how tea is a symbol of enduring love in a comfortably quiet relationship between an elderly couple. Finally, in “WFH”, we capture a glimpse of how tea enables an ovulating partner to interrupt a tedious conference call to get on with the basics of family planning.
Ultimately, the films are designed to show how Tetley is the social glue of Britain, providing its diverse landscape of people a universal tool for bonding, care and a sense of togetherness.
Essence MediaCom handled media planning and buying.
Tata Consumer Products marketing director Mat Bird said: “It’s a privilege to have the opportunity to make this iconic British brand famous again. Everybody in Britain knows Tetley tea but we had forgotten what makes it special – the true emotion behind the act of making it and sharing it.
“This campaign is a proud reminder of all the care we show each other with Tetley, and we hope that will inspire the nation to take that blue box out of kitchen cupboards and onto tables with friends and family.”
Pablo London founder and chief executive Gareth Mercer added: “Tetley is at the centre of what’s happening in Britain now. We grew up with this, we have laughed over this, we have cried around this, we have seen baby steps around this. Tetley is an iconic brand that sees the lives of Britain’s. It is designed to uplift us and so is the work.
So, what is the consensus around the Decision Marketing office?
As a nation of tea lovers Tetley could just be onto something but the main problem it faces is the huge competition in the market from the likes of Yorkshire Tea, PG Tips and Twinnings, not to mention the scores of supermarket own label teas. Last year, Typhoo Tea fell into administration as the 120-year-old brand’s sales slumped, losses widened and debts rose.
Whether this campaign is enough to put Tetley back on top is a moot point. It certainly does portray classic “Britishness” that is for sure; but as we all know, Brits are a fickle lot and many simply opt for a cuppa; a splosh, a brew or a Rosie Lee no matter what brand.
Decision Marketing Adometer: A ‘milk and a heaped teaspoon of sugar please” 8 out of 10
