Created by TBWA\London, with media planned and bought by Manning Gottlieb OMD, the tongue-in-cheek billboards ran across the UK. One execution featured a pointed innuendo: ‘When a Jaffa Cake and a donut love each other very much…’. Others imitated perfume ads, consumer technology ads and sportswear ads. Fans of Jaffa Cakes or ‘Jaffanatics’ will be treated to the doughnutty biscuit when they spot the giant Jonut sculpture which will be hidden in three UK cities.

With new TV and digital advertising restrictions on high fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) foods looming, the Jonuts campaign is also a “great example” of how brands affected by the regulations can continue to launch new innovations elsewhere, Kantar’s Deason adds. It follows Jaffa Cake bars and mini rolls as well as flavour variations of pineapple, cherry and passion fruit alongside the original orange. Featuring a hero Jonut shot from multiple delicious angles and the unmistakable Jaffa Cakes layers of chocolate, sponge and tangy orange center, as one execution playfully explains: ‘All yum breaks loose.’” According to Kantar, the creative is likely to be “very powerful” in generating this short-term sales uplift. With a persuasion score in the top 15% of all UK ads and credibility in the top 25%, the ad scores in the top 20% of ads for its short-term potential. Each execution centres around an enormous image of the Jonut itself, with the Jaffa Jonut’s logo in the bottom right corner.

In February, the brand launched a new platform to play off this history: ‘Be what you want to be’. The Jonut launch was designed to build further on that proposition, and the response from consumers has been “really positive”, Babb says. Source: United Biscuits/Pladis In fact, the Jaffa Jonuts campaign is September’s most creatively effective out-of-home (OOH) ad, according to Kantar, thanks to its potential to drive both long- and short-term business impact. That meant utilising the brand’s iconic blue and orange colouring, “dramatising” the product to drive appeal and intrigue, and being “playful” with the way it was brought to life through copy. These Jaffa creations are described as a magic Jaffa combo with a twist. A soft dougnuty shaped sponge, filled with tangy orange filling, and topped with the classic Jaffa chocolate!⁣" Longer term, Kantar expects that while product experience will be key to sustaining sales, the ad has strong potential to contribute towards longer-term success for the brand.

Produced in association with Marketing Week and the Advertising Association’s Trust Working Group, ‘The Works’ study asked 750 consumers what they thought of five of September’s top outdoor ads – 150 consumers per advert. In a press statement, the agency wrote: “Jaffa Cake Jonuts are the delicious love child of a Jaffa Cake and a donut, further proof of the Jaffa Cakes brand position of ‘Be what you want to be’ – after all, if a Jaffa Cake now wants to be a Jonut, who would want to stand in its way?

Disclaimer

Speaking to Marketing Week, McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes marketing manager, Sarah Babb, says “keeping it really simple” was a key focus for the team when creating the ad. And indeed, Babb says the brand has seen an uplift in sales through September and October when the ad was live, building on an already “really successful” product launch. Billed as the love child between a Jaffa Cake and a donut, the Frankensteinian confection marks the most ambitious move yet by the McVitie’s brand to cater for an evolving market with an expanded product line including its Nibbles range. McVitie’s are giving away thousands of free Jaffa Jonuts – the delicious new fusion between a Jaffa Cake and a doughnut – as part of the Giant Jaffa Jonut Hunt, which will take place in London, Birmingham and Cardiff over the coming weeks. We didn’t want to overcomplicate things. The product itself is what people are most engaged with. So we wanted to keep it really simple, and really hero the product and the distinctive brand assets that we’re building with the brand,” she explains.

Asked why McVitie’s focused on outdoor advertising for its campaign, Babb says it saw OOH as the space that was going to be “most impactful” for a campaign it wanted to be “very visual”.According to Babb, the Jonut was conceived to tap into new eating occasions and to excite “Jaffanatics”. Consumers are looking for more new ways to enjoy the brands and products they love, she says, and Jaffa Cakes didn’t want to be left behind. The Jaffa Jonut is the latest addition to the McVitie’s family and is a hybrid treat that sees the original Jaffa Cake being given a doughnutty twist. Brands that experiment now and master how to use other channels effectively in a way that is coherent with the brand’s essence and reaches and resonates with key audiences will gain competitive advantage,” she says. We’re excited to offer a new twist to our fans, as the fusion between Jaffa Cakes and doughnuts brings an exciting and original taste experience to those who love a treat.” Read More Related Articles We wanted to just hero and dramatise the product,” Babb says. “[OOH] allowed us to be very single minded and very visually driven, to drive the visual appeal and those brand assets.”

The hybrid proposition of the doughnut works particularly well for the Jaffa Cakes brand, Babb adds, because it has been playing into the debate of whether it is a cake or a biscuit since 1991. A court case between Her Majesty’s Customers and Excise and McVitie’s ruled at the time that a Jaffa Cake was in fact a cake and could therefore avoid VAT. For reasons of hygiene and safety, personal grooming products, cosmetics or items of intimate clothing cannot be returned. In need of some positivity? Get delicious recipe ideas, uplifting lifestyle news, and fashion and beauty tips. Make the most of your time at home and enjoy Good Housekeeping delivered directly to your door every month!

Biscuit, cake or… doughnut? Merging a Jaffa Cake and a doughnut is a food combination nobody asked for, but many have been tempted to try after seeing the brand’s outdoor advertising campaign. They're joining the growing Jaffa family alongside the Orange, Pineapple, Cherry and Passion Fruit JaffaCakes flavours not to mention Jaffa Cake Bars and those tasty Jaffa Mini Rolls. Unwanted Food or Drink Products - Once supply conditions are broken, there are a number of factors outside of our control that can affect the quality of a product. Therefore perishable goods such as food and drink cannot be returned.