John West Says ‘It’s A No’ In Fresh Campaign By JWT Melbourne

John West has this week unveiled a new campaign which takes the viewer right back to the source; out on the open sea to view which fish are accepted, and those that are rejected by the leading brand.

Created by J. Walter Thompson Melbourne, the ‘It’s a No from John West’ campaign reinforces the brand’s iconic proposition that ‘It’s what John West rejects that makes John West the best’.

Kieran Antill, executive creative director at JWT Melbourne, said the campaign aimed to creatively bring the ‘It’s a No from John West’ concept to life in an engaging format, reminding consumers of the lengths that the brand goes to reinforce its uncompromising quality.

“The brand has a long history in Australia, with its core proposition ‘It’s what John West rejects that makes John West the best’, but it needed to be reinforced to ensure relevance to a younger and ever price-conscious consumer,” he said.

“Research also showed that because the line hadn’t been used for a number of years, many Australians had lost touch with its meaning, or in the case of younger audiences, were not aware of it at all.

“Many marketers would kill for a brand line as great as ‘It’s what John West rejects that makes John West the best’. Okay, yes it’s long but its meaning is worth it.

“It takes a decisive decision by a brand to say enough is enough, and in this case our task was clear: let’s get back the enduring message of rejection that underpins the quality of all John West products – the power of saying no.”

The campaign returns to the traditional style of John West advertising, but modernised for today’s younger audience with a humorous approach to educating the audience on the brand’s rigorous inspection processes.

“The spot has three great performances from the voice of authority; to the iconic John West fisherman; and the fish that didn’t quite make the cut,” Antill said.

“Hats off to director Jae Morrison and Blockhead for coaching this little fish in his debut performance.”

Suzanne Harman, general manager of marketing at Simplot Australia, said: “John West says ‘no’ a lot. No to standards that compromise the quality of our product. No to practices that affect the sustainability of fish populations.

“The new campaign sets out to dramatise ‘no’ to give it meaning and use it as a demonstration of our commitment to quality.”

In market from this week, the campaign is spearheaded by one 30-second and one 15-second brand ad, and supported by two 15-second product ads, retail shopper-lives, large-format out-of-home elements, and social media.

CREDITS

Client: Simplot

General manager of marketing: Suzanne Harman

Head of marketing communication and brand: Justin Taylor

Marketing manager: Taryn Kerr

Creative agency: J. Walter Thompson Melbourne

Executive creative director: Kieran Antill

Creative directors: Jess Lilley and Jim Walsh

Art director: Monica Placella

Copywriter: Katie Moore

TV producer: Sandi Gracin

Print producer: Miryana Velyanovski

Head of planning: Simon McCrudden

Senior planner: Brigitte Bayard

Group account director: Jessica Johnson

Senior account manager: Lizzie Barclay

Production company: FINCH

Director: Jae Morrison

Executive producers: Corey Esse and Karen Bryon

Producer: Sarah Cook

Offline edit: FINCH

Visual effects: Blockhead

Audio: Nylon

Media agency: OMD

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