How Jaffa Cakes’ ‘renegade’ energy sparked a national debate
Aiming to reverse the decline of its famous snack brand, McVitie’s grabbed attention with tongue-in-cheek out-of-home placements.
McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes is a much-loved British icon, but the snack brand was losing relevance with younger consumers.
In 2023 alone, there was no above-the-line media spent on Jaffa Cakes, at a time when key competitors invested heavily. With fewer people taking note of the brand, sales fell 28% compared to 2021 – a loss of 1.6 million households.
McVitie’s and agency partner TBWA\London needed a new strategy to drive relevance. As a product with ‘cake’ in its name, but which is commonly found in the biscuit aisles of British supermarkets, the Jaffa Cakes brand had always been tricky to categorise.
The team realised it wasn’t about fitting in, gimmicks, or trying to please Gen Z. People loved the brand for being a “renegade” snack which had always been different and it was time to settle the age-old debate – is a Jaffa Cake a cake or a biscuit?
Launching in 2024, a new campaign leant into this debate, declaring: ‘We’re a cake, you biscuit’. The bold, tongue-in-cheek message was supported by large-format outdoor placements in key cities, featuring visuals of a neatly sliced Jaffa Cake and witty copy lines challenging people over their stance on the issue.
The campaign was accompanied by the launch of a new cola bottle-flavoured Jaffa Cake, sparking further debate. Large and small format outdoor placements amplified the reach and frequency of the message about the new flavour.
The campaign reversed Jaffa Cakes’ decline, driving a 41% increase in category penetration, meaning it overtook a main competitor. Buzz among young adults rose 14.6%, its highest level for 12 years.
The OOH activity also achieved 88% brand recall and an “outstanding” five-star rating on System1, helping Jaffa Cakes scoop the 2025 Marketing Week Award for Best Use of Out-of-Home.
