How Chemistry brought Mr Tayto to Life
Although there was much nostalgia and latent affection amongst consumers, this Irish brand and its distinctive on-pack icon, “Mr Tayto”, were felt to lack the contemporary relevance of international brands like Walkers and Pringles. We decided to reverse the situation, by running “Mr Tayto” as a candidate in the 2007 General Election. In a highly successful multi-media campaign, which included a massive poster campaign, a party political broadcast, a campaign song, an online campaign and a tour bus visiting every radio station and newspaper in the country, Mr Tayto made his bid for the hearts and minds of the Irish people with a series of policies such as peace and reconciliation: “It’s time the Northside and the Southside learned to live together.” Despite the fact that Mr Tayto did not in fact get elected to government, the publicity catapulted him back into public consciousness. Mr Tayto was Ireland’s most Googled term in June 2007.
