Hovis: As Good Today As It's Ever Been

Hovis: As Good Today As It's Ever Been

This paper deals with the revival of one of Britain’s oldest brands. Hovis had been in trouble since 2006, falling far behind regional upstart Warburtons. The ‘As Good Today As It’s Ever Been’ campaign leveraged history to prove enduring modern relevance for the brand. Communications included an 122 second TV commercial and a PR onslaught, as well as a host of product-specific communications, which together resulted in the campaign being voted the nation’s ‘Campaign of the Decade’. Sales grew by 14% year-on-year, and the share gap with Warbutons, which had been projected to reach 20 percentage points, narrowed to only six percentage points. Up to £90m incremental profits were generated, representing a payback of c.£5 to 1.