Alpen appointed Mother last year ahead of £2m rebranding exercise, and the agency has responded by unleashing a new cereal mascot onto the British public. Introducing Ralph, a louche luvvie in a silk robe who has supposedly retired but cannot help coming back for just one more curtain call, all in the name of Alpen.
Ralph reminisces about times gone by when he was clearly a match for the likes of Tony the Tiger and the Honey Monster. He is now enjoying the simple things in life – like Alpen muesli – but can’t help himself from reverting to the mascot role, which means displaying very bad table manners. The line is, “Alpen, it’s the grown up thing to do.”
Louise Vickers, head of brand at Alpen, said: “As the UK’s number one muesli brand, we’re rekindling the enjoyment of breakfast for grown-ups nationally through a significant new direction for Alpen that will be a welcome boost to the cereals category. Mother has successfully depicted Alpen’s delightfully grown-up nature through a fun film that we hope will revitalise the brand, positioning muesli as a smart choice for breakfast.”
Matt Sadler, strategy director at Mother, commented, “Alpen has always been viewed as an adult choice, but this doesn’t mean it’s a choice that comes at the cost of joy. We wanted to ensure the campaign maintained a nostalgic and playful attitude whilst positioning muesli as a delicious marker of maturity that breakfast eaters will love getting their teeth into.”
The whole schtick is that when we get older, we start to take a more considered approach to what we eat and how we live. But deep down, we all still want to act like the Honey Monster and create havoc.
It’s part of a major £2m investment in the brand, which includes an improved recipe and new packaging. Weetabix seems to have a pattern of new agencies, new recipes and relaunches every four years. The last work was done with BBH in 2021.
MAA creative scale: 7.5
