GREAT BRITISH BRANDS: Marmite - A hundred years old this year, Marmite is one of the few brands to use the fact that a lot of people don't actually like it

The familiar, if odd, brown jar with its bright yellow label is one of the most recognisable UK FMCG brands and can be found in a quarter of the nation's kitchen cupboards. In fact, all that has changed is the lid, now plastic instead of the original metal, and the fact that the jar is glassware (as opposed to the original earthenware).

It is a classic example of a strong local brand that remains in the Unilever portfolio despite the company's predilection for products that have some global potential.

It is also unusual in that brand extensions have been kept to a minimum.

Bestfoods, which owned Marmite before it was taken over by Unilever in 1999, was always keen not to over-milk its cash cow. Although the brand has been licensed for flavours for other food brands in recent years - most notably to Walker's for Marmite-flavoured crisps - these are small-scale moves.

Marmite was created in 1902 by the same man who created Oxo. Both brands appeared as a by-product of the yeast produced in the brewing process.

Marmite's original UK factory was sited just up the road from the Bass Brewery in Burton-on-Trent, a supplier relationship that continues today.

The name is thought to have originated from the French word marmite, meaning stockpot, similar to the pot that appears on Marmite's label. Like Ovaltine, Marmite's marketing was originally reliant on its health claims.

When the word 'vitamin' was coined in 1912 to describe a number of organic substances essential for life, it gave a powerful boost to Marmite's appeal because one its key ingredients, yeast, is a source of five B vitamins and folic acid. During both world wars Marmite was shipped out to the troops while those back home were urged not to eat too much Marmite so there would be more for the forces. Marmite was found to be particularly good for desert regions because it helped stave off diseases such as beriberi.

In the Second World War, Marmite became something of a currency among Britons in prisoner of war camps. In the past few decades, Marmite has also been able to take advantage of the rise in popularity of vegetarianism in the UK, using PR to remind consumers that it is an extract of yeast.

Advertising for the brand has changed over the years, but has always relied on substantial TV campaigns with memorable slogans. It was known as the 'Family favourite' in the 1950s; this became the 'Growing-up spread you never grow out of' in a campaign using childhood nostalgia.

The Army-themed 'My mate Marmite' ads ran through the 1980s, while the late 1990s brought the 'Love it, hate it' campaign, devised by BMP DDB - this brought an extra edge to the brand loyalty theme. The ads aroused attention because they were so upfront about the fact that some people hated the taste of the product. The strategy was canny because there is no chance of converting the Marmite-haters, but Marmite-lovers could simply become more loyal when they feel part of a select group who like the product.

The current incarnation of the campaign uses Zippy, the big-mouthed puppet from 1970s children's show Rainbow, who zips up his mouth to avoid having to eat Marmite.

The 'Love it, hate it' marketing has given rise to substantial PR opportunities.

Few brands have been so closely associated with the British diet and the Queen's Golden Jubilee has been a prompt for a multitude of stories in the press waxing lyrical about Marmite on toast through the ages.

In a lucky break for the marketing team, the Jubilee coincides with the brand's centenary year. A series of limited-edition jars have been sold, bearing designs from 1940 and 1970.

PR for the occasion has focused on how little it has changed throughout the 100 years and the strength of the brand loyalty it inspires.

FACT FILE
1902
Marmite is launched in the UK after being discovered by a German
chemist.
1912
Marketing is altered to take account of Marmite's heavy dose of
vitamins.
1956
Marmite sponsors the British team at the Olympic Games in Melbourne.
1996
'Love it, hate it' campaign starts. The brand scores a PR coup by
sending Marmite out to troops in Kosovo.
2000
Unilever buys Bestfoods and with it the Marmite brand.
2001
Marmite celebrates its centenary with a series of ads showing how people
have loved and hated Marmite for 100 years; 33 London taxis are covered
with ads for the brand.