Typhoo is returning to the small screen next month after a three-year absence, with a £5m campaign that will once again encourage tea drinkers to go 'oo' as they sup.
Airing from April 3, the campaign follows in the footsteps of the quirky ads of the mid 1980s, which used celebrities such as Frankie Howerd, Julie Walters and Su Pollard voicing the strapline: 'You only get an "oo" with Typhoo.'
The latest creation features an exhausted shopper who pops into a café for a reviving cuppa and is asked by the waitress whether she'd like her tea with or without 'oo'. Opting for the former variety, the shopper discovers the revitalising properties of Typhoo.
The campaign marks the first investment in Typhoo since it was bought from Premier Foods by Calcutta-based Apeejay Surrendra Group last November.
Kelvin Williams, chief executive at Typhoo Tea, said the new ownership would enable the company to focus on rebuilding the brand.
"Typhoo was part of a large range in Premier Foods and it did not have the focus it needed," he said.
"We are on our own now and are able to determine our own destiny. We are not distracted by baked beans."
Williams added that the company planned to increase Typhoo's share of the UK tea market from 7.2% [IRI, February 2006] to 10% within the next couple of years and would be developing the speciality side of the business.
Stefan Chomka