Simon Mowbray
Pot Noodle's controversial It's a slag' TV campaign has triggered a massive 26% rise in sales, new figures reveal.
The boost, which saw the snack brand's four-week value surge to almost £7m in the month to July 14, comes despite hundreds of complaints about the brand's The slag of all snacks' slogan.
Brand owner Unilever Bestfoods changed the catchline to Sounds dirty and it is' last month but the Independent Television Commission this week still ruled that the Slag' version broke rules on offensive language and ordered it not to use the slogan again.
However, the food giant now appears to have had the last laugh as new figures from Information Resources show that sales of Pot Noodle across all grocery and impulse outlets rocketed following the campaign's June 1 launch.
A spokeswoman for Unilever Bestfoods said the company was delighted but would not get carried away until the surge had been sustained. "We need to look at this over a longer period," she said, "but it is looking very promising indeed.
"We would put this down to a combination of new product developments such as Bombay Bad Boy, the TV campaign, and the £13m we are putting behind the brand this year."
However, not everyone is convinced of the merits of the campaign, with one expert claiming that taking the snack so far downmarket may end up damaging it in the long run.
Julian Walford, managing partner at brand strategist Large, Smith & Walford, said: "The main problem I see with the campaign is that it's like taking your trousers off in a restaurant. You are guaranteed lots of attention but it does not necessarily do you any good in the longer term. Associating the brand with slags and being dirty may have turned some consumers off."
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Pot Noodle's controversial It's a slag' TV campaign has triggered a massive 26% rise in sales, new figures reveal.
The boost, which saw the snack brand's four-week value surge to almost £7m in the month to July 14, comes despite hundreds of complaints about the brand's The slag of all snacks' slogan.
Brand owner Unilever Bestfoods changed the catchline to Sounds dirty and it is' last month but the Independent Television Commission this week still ruled that the Slag' version broke rules on offensive language and ordered it not to use the slogan again.
However, the food giant now appears to have had the last laugh as new figures from Information Resources show that sales of Pot Noodle across all grocery and impulse outlets rocketed following the campaign's June 1 launch.
A spokeswoman for Unilever Bestfoods said the company was delighted but would not get carried away until the surge had been sustained. "We need to look at this over a longer period," she said, "but it is looking very promising indeed.
"We would put this down to a combination of new product developments such as Bombay Bad Boy, the TV campaign, and the £13m we are putting behind the brand this year."
However, not everyone is convinced of the merits of the campaign, with one expert claiming that taking the snack so far downmarket may end up damaging it in the long run.
Julian Walford, managing partner at brand strategist Large, Smith & Walford, said: "The main problem I see with the campaign is that it's like taking your trousers off in a restaurant. You are guaranteed lots of attention but it does not necessarily do you any good in the longer term. Associating the brand with slags and being dirty may have turned some consumers off."
{{MARKETING }}
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