PG Tips first ad in eight years stars Top Boy actor Ashley Walters as it revamp its brand positioning to attract a new generation of tea drinkers.
The new creative comes after the tea brand appointed agency Calling to run its creative account, and sits as part of a £12 million marketing push.
Set to Ezra Collective tune ‘Rock Solid’ and shot by 12 Years A Slave and Small Axe director Steve McQueen, the film opens with Walters in his kitchen, before a duplicate Walters walks in and sits besides him asking how he’s doing.
Walters replies that it’s his new job that’s bothering him, to which the doppelganger asks “PG Tips?”.
It is also supported by DOOH and social executions.
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After some words of motivation from his alter ego – and of course a moment to sip his tea – Walters declares that he believes himself as “solid as a rock” and heads off.
Calling founder and executive creative director Josh Tenser said: “PG Tips is a legend that’s lost relevance in recent times. Bringing it back with the scale it deserves has been a privilege and the best possible challenge.”
“The promise of the brand is a moment of fresh perspective inside the noise of life. Our progress begins with these humble moments of recovery and reflection.”
The rebrand comes as fellow tea brand Lipton sold its tea estates in Tanzania, Kenya and Rwanda. It also follows on from Unilever’s sale of both businesses to a private equity firm in 2021.
