Absence, they say, makes the heart grow fonder. And, after the Sanitarium factory was knocked around by the Christchurch earthquakes, passionate yeast spreaders have been pining for their regular slathering of Black Gold. So, in what most see as a company making the best of a bad situation and what some cynics see as a stunt to raise the profile of the brand, Sanitarium and Saatchi & Saatchi launched the Don’t Freak Out campaign to assure eaters Marmite would be back. And it’s continued that approach with a competition asking Kiwis to prove how far they’ll go to protect their stash.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rxMNq3IYAwA glance at some of the spoof ads and the Marmite Facebook page shows there’s plenty of punters hoping and praying for respite (the factory rebuild is progressing nicely, it seems), so, since Marmageddon began in earnest in March, these concerned citizens have been provided with a series of novel suggestions on how best to ration their remaining stocks—or, in the case of the ‘Marmadallion’, how best to remember it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m12_Qwc-4SI
Sir Graham Henry took to the airwaves in the initial Don’t Freak Out campaign and he’s back again for this one, putting his signature to a few Marmite jars to hand out as prizes for those who offer the best suggestions (Kelly Tarlton’s has put its jar in the shark tank).
In fact, so valuable has this commodity become that Pak ‘n’ Save decided not to sell its remaining haul and hand jars to worthy Kiwis, including our successful Olympians.
And while we’re on the topic of shortages, Moa beer is getting in on the act as well, doing a bit of a Stolen Rum and asking mules to bring as much duty-free Moa as they can to London, in return for entry into the now-smouldering Kiwi house.
