Brand Strategy is fond of a certain tattered old bear with a bit of a thing for marmalade sandwiches. In fact, one of our number passes through his eponymous train terminus daily. But now the ad men have got their hands on him and, despite our passion for all things branding, we can’t help but think it’s all a bit wrong.
Paddington Bear (for tis he) is renown for his love of marmalade sandwiches. Indeed it is all you will find in his trusty suitcase. He truly feels that all is right with the world when a bear has a spare marmalade sandwich somewhere about his person.
So why is he being used to promote Marmite? Aside from sharing an opening syllable, the two condiments could not be more different. One, a sticky golden sliver of orangey tartness, the other a yeasty, warming, autumnal spread that works as well between bread as it does in a hot flask.
To mix an iconic lover of marmalade with a divisive, savoury brand such as Marmite is both inauthentic and just as plain wrong as putting both in the same sandwich.
Here at Brand Strategy, we have members partial to a dab of both marmite and marmalade. Marmite’s key sales proposition is that you either love it or you hate it. We love the spread, people, but we’re really not sure about the marketing…
