McVitie’s is bringing some of its most top biscuits together for the first time for a multi-million pound campaign packed full of feeling that spotlights the role the Pladis-owned brand plays in everyday moments of connection across Britain.
The work, developed in partnership with Adam & Eve\TBWA, builds on the success of “There’s Only One”, the 2023 masterbrand campaign featuring the Trevor McDonald championing McVitie’s as Britain’s original and irreplaceable biscuit, and accelerated growth for the brand, with purchase intent increasing by 27% and retail sales value growing by 15.8% in 2023.
The new campaign marks a step change, evolving the brand towards an emotional platform centred on the line “There’s only one that brings us all together”.
The work, which extends across TV, social, out-of-home and in-store, aims to highlight McVitie’s role as a facilitator of meaningful connections, showing how the brand helps bring people together through the shared moments and everyday rituals that define British life.
The campaign is led by a new fast-paced film featuring scenarios and moments sourced from social insights about how, where and when McVitie’s products are enjoyed. Soundtracked by a punk version of Philip Oakey and Giorgio Moroder’s hit Together In Electric Dreams and directed by Greg Hackett through Park Pictures, the 60-second spot shows the brand’s biscuits as the social glue helping to bind us together.
It opens with a parent tossing a packet of biscuits to their child who is about to go on a trip, before swiftly moving on to a pregnant woman picking up some Ginger Nuts during a yoga class; a couple enjoying Rich Tea biscuits over a natter; and a grandmother offering her teenage granddaughter a Club bar while she is donating blood.
From students watching telly together to a man running a marathon and a little girl competing in a soapbox race, McVitie’s biscuits are what they all have in common. The film ends on the tagline: “There’s only one that brings us together.”
Launching this week, the film will run across TV, online video, social and cinema, with media strategy, planning and buying led by Omnicom Media UK agency MG OMD.
Designed to bring McVitie’s to life in environments and moments where people naturally connect, it will run in key TV programming spots, including Trigger Point, Gogglebox and Live Carabao Cup.
The brand film is supported by a nationwide out of home campaign across high-impact sites, including Waterloo Motion, Cromination and Outernet.
The activity also features contextual creative that adapts to different consumption occasions throughout the day across selected digital placements, extending into the brand’s packaging, with limited-edition Digestives, Chocolate Digestives and Hobnobs packs rebranded as Together, Giggling and Buzzing, reinforcing the role its products play in bringing people together.
It will be further amplified through social activity designed to spark conversation around the everyday moments featured in the campaign. Drawing on cultural behaviours and social-first storytelling, the content will aim to extend the campaign’s celebration of connection across digital channels.
McVitie’s marketing director Benazir Barlet-Batada said: “When you stop and look, McVitie’s shows up in so many of the moments that bring people together. It’s the packet opened during a family catch-up, the biscuit shared over a cup of tea, or the familiar favourite that’s always there during life’s big and small occasions.
“At its heart, McVitie’s is a modern British icon that helps facilitate meaningful connections, bringing people together through everyday rituals and shared experiences.
“That’s what inspired this campaign. We wanted to capture a modern snapshot of Britain and celebrate the everyday connections, traditions and shared experiences that unite us. We’re proud of the role McVitie’s has played in British life for generations, and this campaign reflects our ambition to keep the brand relevant by celebrating the people, communities and moments that continue to bring us together.”
Adam & Eve\TBWA creative partner Paul Jordan added: “McVitie’s isn’t one of those brands trying to insert itself into culture – it’s already there. Their biscuits are subtly woven throughout everyday British life. Our job was simply to remind people of that role.
“Working with director Greg Hackett, we painted a modern portrait of British life with McVitie’s at its centre as a kind of social glue. We applied the same thinking to the music: taking something Britain already loves, represented in a new light. A punk version of Together in Electric Dreams became the perfect soundtrack – unexpected, but unmistakably British.”
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