PG Tips has brought back its Monkey mascot as it looks to hit reset on a faltering relaunch that has so far failed to win over shoppers.
A new TV ad starring the famous knitted character alongside British actor and Rivals star Emily Atack is set to debut this Friday (9 May).
In it, Monkey – now voiced by comedian Ivo Graham – is enjoying his retirement, happily married to Atack. The pair are starring in their own reality TV show called ‘At Home with Monkey’. It is shot in a behind-the-scenes style, and features nods to moments of pop culture such as the “be honest” scene from Netflix’s 2023 David Beckham documentary.
PG Tips sales slide prompts rethink
The advert – part of a £8m investment by PG Tips owner Lipton Teas & Infusions this year – is a clear departure from 2024’s ‘Rock Solid’ campaign featuring actor Ashley Walters, which failed to revitalise the brand following years of sales declines.
Despite the £12m push, updated packaging and a new quick-brewing teabag, PG Tips saw sales slide by £15.1m to £76.8m on volumes that fell 37.8% in the year following its September 2023 relaunch [NIQ 52 w/e 7 September 2024].
Declines have since slowed, with value falling 11.6% to £66.5m on volumes down 9.2% over the past year [NIQ 52 w/e 26 April 2025]. However, PG Tips is now the fourth-largest tea brand in the UK by value and some way from market leader Yorkshire Tea, which is worth £192.6m [NIQ 52 w/e 28 December 2024].
PG Tips was therefore “pivoting our approach” and “moving away from more of a Gen Z focus to a campaign with much broader appeal,” said LT&I UK & Ireland chief marketing officer Elle Barker.
“PG Tips is a brand that historically always had humour and feelgood factor about it,” she said. “We wanted to bring that back and get people thinking about and drinking the brand. As such, it’s only right we brought back our knitted and sharp-witted mascot of Monkey.”
Distinctive brand asset
Monkey – who began life as a mascot for ITV Digital and first appeared in a PG Tips advert in 2007 alongside Johnny Vegas – was one of PG Tips’ “most distinctive brand assets”, said Barker. His return would help bring relevancy back to the brand, she predicted.
“It’s very clear that the inconsistency on PG Tips has been one of the problems, and Monkey helps us bring back some much needed consistency,” said Barker. “PG is still the UK’s favourite tea brand according to YouGov. People love it for a reason, and Monkey is inextricably tied up with that.”
The ‘Rock Solid’ push had helped recruit younger shoppers to PG Tips, but failed to resonate with the brand’s core audience, Barker revealed.
“We tried to run before we could walk,” she admitted. “If you look at where the massive tea consumers are, they are older. We have to be pragmatic. Right now, what we really need is a mass-market, optimistic campaign that’s going to get the whole nation back in love with tea.”
PG Tips distribution rebuild underway
Alongside the new campaign, LT&I was also rebuilding distribution in the mults, following widespread SKU rationalisation undertaken by former management, said Barker.
“We cut too deep, so we’re bringing back the packs that UK consumers really love, particularly big packs,” she explained. “It’s not been an easy, easy road to walk because that was a mistake, but we’re refilling those gaps now and are back up at September 2023 distribution levels.”
Having invested £40m in quality improvements at its Manchester factory in 2023, LT&I was now in a position to drive sustainable growth on PG Tips, Barker said.
“The reality is that we are turning a supertanker and this will take time,” she said. “We’ve invested heavily into quality and our new blend. Now we need to bring consistency back to the brand and make sure that consumers get a chance to try it.
“We believe we’ve set the business up for a long-term success, but it’s going to take a year or two to shift the dynamic, because we have fallen out of consideration with consumers.”
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