Shift Post Edits Montage of Mayhem for Marmite’s Cheeky ‘First Timers’

London-based edit-house, Shift Post, recently worked alongside adam&eveDDB on its latest campaign for the nation's favourite debate-inducing spread, Marmite. Shift Post handled the editing of the film, led by editor Saam Hodivala, who worked closely with director Guy Shelmerdine to bring his ambitious vision to life. 

The playful campaign, entitled ‘First Timers’, invites young adults to experience Marmite in all its sticky glory, and even shows first timers how not to do it. Featuring two experimenting puppets trying to put Marmite on toast for the very first time, the suggestive scenarios invite the pair to ‘stroke that’, ‘push that’ and ‘lick that’. 

Shift Post’s edit of the film seamlessly aligns with the accompanying music - a remixed version of the electro track ‘Workout’, which was specially recorded by music producer Giraffage. Each action loops and perfectly in time with the music, building throughout to become increasingly more bizarre and outrageous. 

Bringing his own trademark sense of fun to the edit, Saam strived to create the sense that every repeated action spirals increasingly out of hand as the puppets’ experimentation reaches its peak. Comedy is found in the silence and stillness that accompanies ‘not that’ as the Marmite is spread incorrectly, followed by a visual feast of all the other scenarios brought together. 

Saam Hodivala, editor, Shift Post commented, "Guy had a clear vision of how he wanted the edit to work, with each action looping in time to the music. What I wanted to bring to the film was a sense of the wheels slowly coming off, with each repetition getting incrementally more bizarre until the final moment where you wonder WTF you just watched."

Laura Iliffe, brand manager, Marmite, said: "We pride ourselves on sparking debate and strong opinions and most consumers are either lovers or haters. However, when we saw the number of young adults who had never even tried it—we knew we had to do something to dare them to take the plunge and try our special spread."