Hovis Goes Back to Its Roots to Connect with Modern Britain

For the first time in six years, Hovis returns to screens across the UK with a bold new brand platform and campaign from its global creative agency of record VCCP.

The new brand platform ‘Strength Baked In’ celebrates Hovis’ roots and its enduring role as a British icon and its rich heritage. It marks a return to the values first baked into the brand which started mass production in Macclesfield in 1886 - reconnecting Hovis with modern Britain. This new campaign is the first work from VCCP for Hovis since winning the account in 2024.

The bold reappraisal of Hovis’ role in modern Britain is centred around is a resonant new film, which was directed by Zak Razvi, and produced by VCCP’s global content creation studio Girl&Bear.

The 40” hero spot traces a cinematic path through Hovis’ ‘ghost signs’, still visible on brick walls across towns like Stockport and Preston - using them as a visual thread to tell the real stories of everyday strength and resilience from the people who live around them. The film culminates in the painting of a new Hovis mural, watched by a young boy who offers the painter a slice of toast in a warm, human act of solidarity - a modern nod to the iconic boy on the bike, reimagined for a new generation. The soundtrack that accompanies the film is Sam Fender’s ‘Remember My Name’ which features the Easington Colliery Band.

The new brand platform returns to Hovis’ roots and its foundation in 1886 by Richard 'Stoney' Smith, who wanted to create better quality bread for the nation. The name Hovis was famously chosen following a national competition, inspired by the Latin phrase ‘Hominis Vis’ - meaning ‘the strength of man’. From the very beginning, strength has been baked1 into its identity - not just in the quality of the bread, but in the role the brand has played in supporting Britain through every chapter of its history, from donating Spitfires in wartime to supporting food banks today.

In addition to the campaign film, VCCP commissioned an original piece of research from VICE journalist Clive Martin exploring strength in modern Britain - anchored in Nottingham, home to one of Hovis’ largest bakeries. The resulting insights found that many people across the UK feel that strength isn’t just a word - it’s a value that’s more relevant than ever. In a post-austerity, post-covid, post-Brexit world, people are finding strength in community and resilience in adversity. The insights laid the foundation for the campaign strategy: a celebration of the enduring strength of Hovis and the nation.

The campaign will be running across multiple channels including TV, social, digital and in-store channels.

Mark Brown, CMO at Hovis said, “‘Strength Baked In’ is a recommitment to the values Hovis has always stood for - strength in community, authenticity, and resilience. And that commitment sparked a genuine transformation across the business - bringing fresh energy not just to creative strategy, but to product development, innovation, and internal culture.”

​Emma Houlston and Colin McKean, creative directors at VCCP, added, “Handpainted Hovis signs have adorned brick walls across the nation for over 100 years. We wanted to celebrate these beautiful symbols of endurance and the resilience of the people who pass by them every day. Those wise, weathered Hovis signs have seen it all, reminding us we all carry strength, even in the toughest times.”

See more work from VCCP here.