Marmite offers public chance to vote on Oxford Street lights switch-off

By John Reynolds, marketingmagazine.co.uk, 04 January 2013, 10:18AM

Marmite is offering the public the chance to vote on when to switch off the Oxford Street Christmas lights this weekend, in a novel marketing initiative.

Marmite: offers vote on time to switch off the Oxford Street Christmas lights

More sharing options

The initiative plays on the love/hate it theme of the Unilever-owned brand.

Fans will be asked to vote on the Marmite Facebook hate page if they want to see the display switched off earlier than planned.

Unilever will be posting a series of posts on the page, asking members of the public what time they would like them turned off on Sunday, January 6.

The more "likes" the page gets, the earlier the lights will be switched off.

Normally, the lights would be turned off at 11.30am. For every 100 "likes", the Unilever brand gets on its Facebook hate page, they will go off 30 minutes earlier.

In October last year, it was announced that Marmite was to sponsor the Oxford Street Christmas Lights for the first time, central to which was a "love it or hate it" interactive display.

The spread created a series of Christmas characters, including elves and a Father Christmas, out of lights.

These lined Oxford Street from Poland Street to Marble Arch, flashing in certain sequences to create an animated effect.

Follow @johnreynolds10

This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk