MÜLLER® RICE ‘SURPRISINGLY NICE’ AD CAMPAIGN BY VCCP

The unrivalled popularity of Müller® Rice as tasty snack at any time of day is the central theme for the new TV, press and outdoor poster advertising campaign by VCCP for Britain’s biggest selling chilled pot dessert brand*.

Two new 30-second TV executions which cut straight to the heart of two real families’ love affair with Müller® Rice will be shown simultaneously when the new two-month TV burst takes to the air from week commencing May 4.

During the same eight-week period a new consumer press campaign featuring “One taste and you’ll want mooore” and an “any time of day – 9.30 or 15.00 or 21.00” messages will be appearing in women’s weekly and monthly titles such as OK!, Now, Glamour and InStyle, as well as national newspapers including the Sun, Mirror and The Star, and commuter newspapers Metro and London Lite.

A national six-sheet outdoor poster campaign using sites selected for their close proximity to stores is also aimed at driving awareness and trial near the point-of-purchase.

The Müller® Rice spring campaign, which will also see the start of a 6-month national sampling drive giving away over 1 million  pots of Müller Rice, forms the second phase of the £4.5 million marketing programme for the brand this year. It follows last month’s introduction of new pack designs and the launch of the Limited Edition Müller® Rice flavour – Apple & Blackberry.

Each of the new TV ads show real life Rice consumers. The first executions feature a couple – the Johnsons; and a family – the Withams, talking about why they like Müller® Rice and having a some lively banter amongst themselves about the lengths that they have go to in their respective households to get their hands onto a pot of Müller® Rice before they get eaten by someone else.

For Mrs Johnson, it’s the fruity chunks of the apple variant and being able to eat Müller® Rice at any time of day that makes the brand so appealing, while her husband, Paul, sees Müller® Rice fulfilling two different roles – both as a quick filler and a brand to savour.  But both admit that in their house “You’ve got to get to the Müller® Rice quicker than Linford Christie otherwise its gone!”. 

Over at the Withams’, it’s more of a game of hide and seek with the Strawberry Müller® Rice in their household.  Unfortunately for mum, the members of her entire family are all too familiar with her habit of hiding her pots of Müller® Rice. Dad - a self-confessed ‘Müller® Rice freak’ who is bowled over by the fantastic taste – admits that he often raids his wife’s secret stash Müller® Rice, eats them and replaces them. 

Both ads end with a pack shot of their favourite Müller® Rice flavour and the copyline “Müller® Rice. Surprisingly Nice.”.  The ads will be screened during programmes which have broad appeal such as Come Dine with Me, Britain's Got Talent, Desperate Housewives and Shameless. 

Around 14 million consumers are expected to see the TV and press campaign during the spring burst. 

Chris McDonough, Marketing and R&D Director of Müller® UK, says: “The new TV and press advertising is all about reminding consumers how tasty Müller® Rice is, as a snack at any time of day.  It’s a message we’ve been delivering since we successfully re-launched the brand three years ago, and in a ‘proof of the pudding’ approach we thought we’d now give consumers the opportunity to tell other consumers how they feel about the brand in their own words. 

“This campaign is a new creative departure, but continues in our over-riding quest to position the brand as a modern, tasty, healthy snack for families.  And it’s one that is delivering results. Both volume and value sales continue to soar – sterling sales of Müller® Rice are up by almost a third (30.6%)1over the past year, and this is on the back of a 15.4% increase in the previous 12 months.**”  

Müller® Rice – Reasons to be cheerful
* Müller® Rice is a £53 million brand*
* During the past year sterling sales of Müller® Rice grew by 30.6% and the number of pots sold increased by 22 million*
* More people are buying the brand - one in four households now purchase Müller® Rice*
* Regular Müller® Rice purchasers are continuing to trade up – 6-pack multipack sales are up by almost 50% in the past year* 

*Source:  IRI, GB Chilled small desserts, Total GB 52 w/e 21.03.09
**Source:  IRI, GB Adult desserts, Total GB Value 52 w/e 22.03.08 

- ends - 

Note to editors: 

For more information contact Cliff Hall at VCCP on 020 7592 9331 or visit www.vccp.com

Müller® UK Telesales contact number: 01630 698600
Müller® Rice is the UK’s No 1 chilled pot dessert brand with a 14% value share of the chilled small desserts market (IRI) 52 MAT w/e 21.3.09

www.muller.co.uk