Tuesday, November 20, 2012


"As good for you today as it's always been."  - maybe but obviously not so good for the employees.

Premier Foods, the maker of the iconic Hovis bread, has announced it is to shut two bakeries and axe 900 jobs as part of plans to overhaul the struggling bread business.

From Wikipedia

The last major British television and cinema advertisement launched was in 2008 to promote its Hovis brand of bread. The 122-second piece name ‘Go On Lad’ was commissioned as part of a £15,000,000 brand relaunch designed to reverse Hovis' declining market share and profits. The commercial follows the journey of a young boy through 122 years of British history, from the establishment of the Hovis brand in 1886 to the current day. The campaign was handled by advertising agency Miles Calcraft Briginshaw Duffy. Production of the commercial itself was contracted to London-based production company Rattling Stick, with post-production handled by The Mill. It was directed by Ringan Ledwidge.

The advertisement, and its associated campaign, proved a popular, critical, and financial success. Its launch was covered by several national newspapers within the United Kingdom, including The Independent, The Daily Mail, and The Daily Mirror, on television programming such as the Granada Reports and Loose Women, and by over 300 local and national radio stations. Sales of Hovis products jumped by over £12,000,000 in the weeks following the launch of Go On Lad, and over 1,000 unsolicited letters and e-mails were sent to Hovis praising the piece. The campaign received dozens of awards from the advertising and television industries, including Gold’s at the Creative Circle Awards, the Marketing Society Awards, and the British Television Advertising Awards. In 2009, the British public voted ‘Go On Lad’ the best television commercial of the decade.