6th Oct 2010 - 00:00
Abstract
High street coffee chain, Costa, is ramping up its advertising effort by launching its first ever TV advert tomorrow night.
The advertisement, described as "innovative and humorous" will air at 8.45pm during Coronation Street's primetime slot. It will run for four weeks in both 30 second and 60 second formats. The campaign titled 'Monkeys and Typewriters', focuses on the well-known theorem that if you give a room full of monkeys typewriters, they will eventually produce the entire works of Shakespeare. So, the voice of actor Bill Nighy provokes, 'can a room full of monkeys produce the perfect cup of coffee?' The monkeys try to work the machines with a gradual descent into chaos. The ad concludes with shots of a Costa barista hand making the "perfect cup of coffee", which Costa says "illustrates that good coffee is not born from luck but can only". Jim Slater, marketing director for Costa, said the timing of the launched ad is crucial: "Costa is enjoying double-digit like for like sales growth, and we aim to continue this great momentum. Independent surveys consistently prove that coffee lovers prefer Costa, and this TV commercial will help us to explain the reasons why." The campaign follows the success of Costa's first national marketing campaign in 2009. It proved controversial with Starbucks disputing the '7 out of 10 coffee lovers prefer Costa' claim, for several months. In July the Advertising Standards Authority ruled in Costa's favour allowing the company to continue making the taste test claim. Costa continues to trade strongly with owner Whitbread announcing a 28% growth in sales and 8.3% in like for like for the 24 weeks to 19 August 2010.