Jaffa Cakes Claims Cake Throne with Hilarious Museum Mayhem Stunt

pladis and creative PR agency, The Romans, have revealed their first campaign for McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes: ‘The Biscuit Muse-errrm?'.

The hilarious campaign saw the agency go under the radar with an outlandish story that the UK's number one biscuit museum had added the iconic Jaffa Cake to its halls of fame. That’s right: a Jaffa Cakes exhibit in the Biscuit Museum.

The campaign was kicked off by a covert partnership with Gary Magold and Frank Turner - curators of the Biscuit Museum in Bermondsey, South East London. Together, they unveiled a new, unlikely exhibit dedicated entirely to the humble Jaffa Cake. The museum shared their excitement of the new addition across its social channels - sparking instant debate with biscuit enthusiasts up and down the nation. The announcement took an unexpected turn, however, when McVitie’s served a cease & desist letter to the museum.

A snippet from the letter read:

“Dear Sirs, Madams, and Biscuit Enthusiasts,

It has come to our attention, with no small degree of dismay, that the Biscuit Museum hasincluded the humble Jaffa Cake within its exhibition of biscuitry.

We write to you today, not with crumbs of animosity, but with a full slice of firm objection.

Allow us to be clear: Jaffa Cakes are, in fact, cakes.

Not biscuits. Not hybrid snacks. Just cakes. Some would say the clue is in the name on the box.”

The results were instant, sparking national debate thanks to headlines landing everywhere from the Mail Online to The Guardian and London Standard, along with same-day broadcast features on ITV’s Lorraine and This Morning.

Phase two of the campaign saw the museum’s curators enter discussions at McVitie’s HQ in a true demonstration of British snack diplomacy. In a bid to delight fans and quell the crumbling tensions, the campaign culminated with news that McVitie’s and the museum had opened a dedicated ‘Cake Wing’ - designed to house the museum’s Jaffa Cakes exhibit in its own dedicated space. This announcement has not only resulted in genuine visits from the public to the new Cake Wing, but a further wave of coverage across LADBible and Verge.

James King, marketing director for McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes, said, “The question of whether a Jaffa Cake is a cake or a biscuit has sparked social media spats and divided households for decades. Our latest campaign with The Romans added fresh fuel to the debate, reminding fans (and museums) of the true status of our iconic treat.”

Dan Roberts, executive creative director at The Romans said, “The cake vs biscuit debate is as old as time, so we decided this year it was time to do things a little differen. Now, the suggestion of suing two lovely blokes like Gaz and Frank at the UK’s #1 biscuit museum is one that can easily put the fears in a client. But, with a big dollop of unmistakable Jaffa humour, we issued a spoof cease and desist that managed to entertain the nation, and spark the debate all over again.”

The campaign didn’t just spark headlines - it kicked off a full-blown 360 campaign from McVitie’s, complete with eye-catching OOH and social content all designed to settle the score once and for all. Jaffa Cakes are, always have been, and always will be, cakes.