Twinings Imagines History Being Made in its 1706 Tea Room

Twinings, one of the world’s leading tea brands, is launching a new strategic and creative platform across the U.S. to promote its herbal and wellness tea lines. This marks the first-ever advertising platform for Twinings Wellness Blends, which debuted on U.S. shelves in late 2018, and the first all-digital marketing campaign for Twinings North America.

 

The platform was created by independent advertising agency Terri & Sandy, named Twinings’ North American agency of record last September. The new campaign, called “From 1706 & Beyond,” celebrates Twinings’ rich heritage, as the brand dates back over 300 years. The story unfolds with the founder, Thomas Twining, at the helm. However, it takes an unexpectedly modern twist as the enthusiastic English visionary proves to be humorously ahead of his time.

Original video content takes viewers back to the Twinings Tea Room of 1706. The setting pays homage to the first London tea room, which was actually founded by Thomas Twining. The Twinings Tea Room would become an epicenter of social life, where people came together to sip and mingle. Here, Thomas Twining shares bold proclamations about his future Herbal and Wellness blends to a room full of patrons. The teas—with ingredients like turmeric, hibiscus and chamomile—are a few centuries ahead of the blends to which the townspeople are accustomed. Thomas is comically misunderstood but takes their responses in stride. Like any true innovator, he presses forward with confidence.

 

“We’ve seen growth in the herbal and wellness tea segments as consumers look for products with added health benefits,” says Katie Butler, VP of Marketing for Twinings North America. “The campaign celebrates Twinings’ modern benefits and unique flavors by highlighting that the 18th century just wasn’t ready for them. It’s the perfect blend of heritage and humour.”

“Twinings is steeped in rich history and iconic British roots,” says Sandy Greenberg, Co-CEO of Terri & Sandy. “We wanted to pair this important differentiator with the brand’s modern ingredients to create a platform that is fresh and unexpected in the tea category.”

The campaign is being supported by targeted programmatic across connected TV, mobile, tablet and desktop platforms and a robust social buy across YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. Media was handled by Levelwing.