Two friends who hang out in a garden shed. One is working out. The other is encouraging him. This is the opening scene of the new €500,000 advertising campaign for the relaunch of the much-loved chocolate bar Catch. Developed by Bloom (www.bloom.ie), the Dublin based creative agency famous for working with challenger brands, “Weights” is the first 20 second commercial in a series of TV and online videos called “The Unofficial Catch Fan Club”. It is now live, supported by OOH and social. Media planning and buying is handled by OMD.
First launched in Ireland in 1976 with a very distinctive and memorable campaign song, Catch went on to become one of Ireland’s favourite chocolate bars. Over the years, with increased competition and minimal marketing, it lost ground but still managed to retain a passionate and loyal fan base. With this campaign, the ambition is to return Catch to the heady heights of one of the nation’s favourite chocolate brands – by reminding its fans just how good it is and introducing it to a whole new audience.
The new commercial is the first of six spots which takes us into the weird world of the “The Unofficial Catch Fan club” where we meet two simple lads in a shed who love Catch. Their light hearted musings and interaction reflect the essence of the brand.
“Catch is a fun brand” says Finian Slattery, country manager for Catch. “It makes a lot of people who remember it from its heyday, smile.”
“Outwit, not Outspend” challenger philosophy
When it comes to new commercials, the new Catch campaign is a classic example of Bloom’s “Outwit, not Outspend” challenger philosophy in action. Namely, how to deliver great, eye-catching creative with clever production decisions and not inflated budgets.
“Relaunching a brand is an exciting challenge because while the goal is to attract the younger consumer, you have to respect the heritage of the brand and its existing fans” continues Damian Penco, Managing partner at bloom. “We want to re-ignite the unique sense of fun which Catch represents – and bring it to a new generation. One of the interesting things about Catch is that, unlike many of its competitors, it hasn’t suffered from ‘shrinkflation’ and is still the same size now as it was in 1976 – a proper chocolate bar.”
Credits:
CLIENT
Brand: Catch
Country Manager: Finian Slattery
AGENCY
Agency: Bloom
Account Manager: Emma Mallon
Creative Director: Michael Walsh
Copywriter: Tom Connolly
Art Director: Shane O’Hare
Managing Partner: Damian Penco
PRODUCTION
Company: Ion Productions
Producer: Jim Colgan
Director: Michael Creagh
