Ambrosia returns to UK screens ahead of Christmas

Premier Foods is bringing its Ambrosia brand back to TV screens for the first time in four years, as part of a multi-channel campaign worth £2.5m to celebrate the dessert brand’s Devonshire heritage. The TV advert launched on 1 December and will continue through the winter months.

"We have been making products that are naturally simple at our Lifton creamery in Devon for over 100 years, and this new campaign has a modern, friendly look that still stays true to the brand’s heritage and embraces what people love about the range,"commented Daniel Jalalpour, Brand Director for Desserts. "We saw 1.3 million new shoppers turn to our dessert brands in response to the lockdown earlier this year, and that has in turn contributed to total growth of +16 per cent in the ambient dessert category [1]."

Marking the brand’s return to television, the advert introduces a new character, Moley, to communicate how the brand can help to "spread naturally simple pleasures". In the advert, the oodland character makes its way across the Devonshire countryside, picking fruit from the hedgerow before spotting Ambrosia custard being served at a nearby picnic. Moley swoops by to take a little himself, and the advert closes with a shot reminiscent of that shown on Ambrosia packs, alongside the tagline, "Devon knows how they make it so creamy". (The advert was created using a puppet and drone videography rather than CGI and includes shots of the Devon skyline throughout.)

The ad is expected to reach 74% of UK households between December and March, a key time of year that is worth £180m to the category [2].

The campaign will be supported by in-store materials, with limited-edition cans (400g) of Ambrosia Custard and Rice Pudding available with festive designs in the final run-up to Christmas.

[1] Kantar Worldpanel (P12M to 1st Nov 2020)

[2] Value given is total category value sales for Dec 2019-Feb 2020