This little piggy went to market, this little piggy stayed at home, this little piggy had roast beef, this little piggy had none and this little piggy tried to look all cute and flog millions of greetings cards.
Yep, this week we’re getting our snouts stuck into online greeting card and gifting platform Moonpig, which is hailing the return of its porker mascot in a new ad campaign from agency Creature.
And, why not, you may ask. After all, Tony the Tiger has been “greeeeat” for Kellogg’s Frosties since 1950s, Julio Pringles has been hamming it up since 1960s and, of course, a certain CGI Russian meerkat and his family and friends have proved highly successful for Compare the Market since the 2000s.
Cue the official blurb: “The Moonpigs are a big brand idea that will be instantly memorable. They will tell funny, charming, sentimental, human stories across multiple occasions and will live across every brand touchpoint to cement Moonpig’s brand purpose of ‘Creating moments that matter between people every day’.
“Just like how there’s a Moonpig for every moment, the Moonpigs will change their little outfits to match the designs in the company’s ever-growing card range. Whether your favourite is the dinosaur moonpig, the superhero moonpig, or the sweetest-avocado-you’ve-ever-seen moonpig, they aim to inspire everyone to connect with the people they love.”
Quite a write-up for an animated porker who doesn’t do much apart from squeal and squeak while changing into different costumes during his first outing, which launched on TV late last week.
Still, Moonpig chief marketing officer Kristof Fahy is pretty chuffed: “You know that warm, fuzzy feeling you get when someone sends you something thoughtful, and the unbeatable satisfaction of finding the perfect card for an upcoming occasion? We wanted to take those feelings and turn them into something visual.
“We have one of the most recognisable brand names in the UK with an iconic jingle, but somewhere along the way, we lost another key brand asset that’s unique to us – the pig. So we decided it was time to bring it back.”
“These cute little characters will help us re-engage and bring the brand name to life again with something that’s uniquely Moonpig. I am looking forward to having a lot of fun with our ads over the next couple of years – watch this space for more Moonpigs to come.”
So, what is the consensus around the Decision Marketing office?
Well, call us old fashioned but it takes a bit more than simply turning a pig into a cartoon to create a “brand mascot”. Maybe the little piggies will develop their own characters over the coming months and years but, if this first spot is anything to go by, you have to wonder why they have bothered.
More “a small brand idea that is instantly forgettable” than”a big brand idea that will be instantly memorable”. Possibly, we should give it time, but on this showing it could be a while before the Moonpigs are bringing home the bacon.
Decision Marketing Adometer: A “distinct lack of crackling” 6 out of 10
