Jaffa Cakes Campaign Is the Most Effective OOH Ad

Jaffa Cakes’ new comedic campaign has achieved the highest scores yet for long-term commercial effectiveness in Out-of-Home advertising, according to System1.

'We’re a cake” You Biscuit' scored an exceptional 5.0 Stars, while 'Clue’s On the Box' scored 4.9 Stars. System1 also tested Global Street Art’s painted version in Stockport, which achieved 4.7 Stars amongst a nationally representative sample and 5.1 Stars amongst a Stockport audience. System1’s Star Rating provides ads with a score of 1.0 to 5.9 Stars based on long-term brand-building potential.

The scores mean the creatives perform toe-to-toe with some of the most effective TV advertising. Though OOH performs in line with the TV norm for Star-Rating, outdoor ads only attract an average of two seconds of attention, and only 44% brand recall within that time, 20% less than UK TV campaigns. Tested in real-life contexts, Jaffa achieved an exceptional two-second brand recall of 88%, double the norm for outdoor campaigns.  

The creative’s success is attributed to strong distinctive assets, minimal high-impact copy, and large logo placement, all features known to drive brand recognition, as identified by System1 and JCDecaux in their latest research. 

Adam Woolf, marketing director, McVitie’s said, “This campaign is particularly special to us as it taps into Jaffa’s distinctive heritage of boldness and boundary-pushing, while staying true to its classic British humour roots.  We are delighted to see that the light-hearted nature of the campaign is bringing fun and enjoyment to people, with the provocative stance on the cake vs. biscuit debate.”

Andrew Tindall, senior vice president global partnerships, System1 said, “A first-class example of how to build brand on one of the last standing truly broad-reach mediums, out of home. Playing off a long-standing idea that's come from the consumer in a simple, emotional and visual way. Impressive."