Head Back Down to Cheddar Town in Mini Cheddars Spot

If there is one thing we know about the UK; it has an enduring love for cheese - especially cheddar. To celebrate this, its latest campaign for Mini Cheddars sees pladis revisiting its award-winning Cheddar Town brand platform, which has been refreshed, revitalised and revamped by TBWA\London.

The new digital video campaign takes place back in the whimsically cheesy haven of ‘Cheddar Town’ inspired by the bright colours and iconic sunburst logo of Mini Cheddars. The new animated campaign, directed by Robert Strange and produced by Blinkink, takes viewers into the heart of the quirky cartoon wonderland, which has become a favourite of consumers and awards juries alike.

The previous campaign saw it exceed growth targets across penetration, frequency, audience profile, and revenue. The platform also won Gold Effies in both the UK and Europe.

This time, the spotlight is on the townsfolk’s annual cheese rolling competition - a hilariously chaotic event that showcases the community’s shared obsession with cheese.

The creative kicks off with a giant, mischievous cheddar wheel taking the lead as the townsfolk race after it. Each character uses cheeky tactics to gain an edge: Gladys loses her pearls trying to trip up competitors, while another racer disguises themselves as a tree to take out others. The playful narrative culminates in a surprising twist when a gleeful winner nets the ultimate prize - a bag of Mini Cheddars. The ad closes with the line, “Mini Cheddars, Baked with Real Cheese.”

With its vibrant animation, playful storytelling, and focus on Britain’s fanaticism for cheese, the campaign aims to capture hearts and appetites and showcase the snack’s ability to satisfy daily cravings.

Manning Gottlieb OMD have planned a blend of high reaching video channels which strongly indexed against Mini Cheddar’s audience to support the asset. Social-first content created by MG OMD’s Social Engine will bring townsfolk figures to life alongside an influencer partnership based in Cheddar Town itself to amplify messaging.  

Paul Jordan, ECD at TBWA\London, said, “Cheese Rolling was simply the perfect scenario for our latest saga in Cheddar Town. There can be no better way to highlight how strange and obsessed we Brits are about cheese than to watch a whole town hurl itself down a hill in pursuit of it. And because Mini Cheddars are baked with real cheese they’re every bit as round, yellow and delicious as their namesakes.”

Kate Stokes, marketing manager for Mini Cheddars at pladis UK&I, said, “Mini Cheddars has always been about delivering big flavour in a small package, and this latest campaign perfectly captures the fun and obsession our fans feel for cheese. We’re incredibly proud of our product’s heritage and quality, and thrilled to share this next chapter of ‘Cheddar Town’ with the nation .”

Robert Strange, animation director said, “I love directing these Mini Cheddars films - they capture the spirit of the old-school ad campaigns that first made me want to direct commercials. In an era of snackable content, it’s refreshing to sink our teeth into a proper 20-second return to Cheddar Town, mining more comedy gold from the characters we created in 2021 and throwing them into their own bizarro downhill cheese roll.”