Pot Noodle courts more controversy with 'have you got the Pot Noodle horn' ad

by Jennifer Whitehead, Brand Republic 03-Mar-05, 08:30

LONDON - Pot Noodle, fresh from the Sudan 1 food scare, looks set to court further controversy with its new television advertising campaign 'Have you got the Pot Noodle horn?', which has the same sexual overtones as its previous banned 'slag of all snacks' campaign.

The campaign breaks next Monday, only weeks after Unilever Foods was forced to recall certain flavours of Pot Noodle follwoing the revelation that they were among 350 products contaminated with the banned food dye Sudan 1.

The ads, created by HHCL/Red Cell, are bound to give rise to complaints, punning on the expression "having the horn" -- despite giving the horn a very literal representation.

In one 40-second execution called "bar", a man is shown entering a bar to join his friends. His trousers bulge and he is accused of having the "Pot Noodle horn". At first he denies this, but a ruckus ensues, and finally he admits that he does have the horn -- in a shot that looks as if he has an erection.

He then pulls a real hunting horn from his trousers, declaring: "It's big and brassy and I'm going to blow it", before walking out. He returns in a dishevelled state, but with his trousers back to normal because he has had his fill of Pot Noodle.

In another ad, "office", a man is shown trying to stuff his trouser bulge under his desk, as a colleague encourages him to eat a Pot Noodle. Eventually his boss orders him to take a pile of Pot Noodles and two attractive assistants, and take 10 days off. "Don't come back until you've done the lot," the boss insists.

The campaign has been cleared by the BACC for broadcast after the watershed, and is aimed at Pot Noodles core market of 16- to- 24-year-olds. An earlier slogan, "the slag of all snacks", was banned after it received hundreds of complaints from the public.

Dom Speciale, marketing manager for Pot Noodle, said: "This is Pot Noodle at its best. Making surprising, utterly unique advertising, based on a simple brand truth -- people getting the urge for our gorgeous grub and not being able to stop themselves eating it."

The campaign was created by Jonathan Thake and Lee Tan, under creative director Jonathan Burley. It was directed by Traktor and produced by Partizan.

Supporting the TV campaign will be radio ads, a new website and below-the-line support through Billington Cartmell.

Unilever has said that the food scare will not affect marketing plans for the Pot Noodle brand, and that fresh stocks have already been distributed. Premier Foods, owner of the Crosse & Blackwell Worcester sauce brands at the centre of the scare, has also said that it does not expect to be financially hurt by the recall.

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