Maynards Bassetts Presents a Tasty Intermission of Sweet-inspired Madness

Following the formation of candy ‘masterbrand’ Maynards Bassetts at the start of 2016, the confectionary giant has teamed with Wieden+Kennedy London to launch their first major advertising campaign in 20 years. Featuring iconic Maynards Bassetts brands — including Wine Gums, Jelly Babies, and Bertie’s Jelly Mix — “A Tasty Intermission” draws on the signature quirkiness of each sweet while injecting a new sense of irreverent play into the range.

Based on the idea that each Maynards Bassetts sweet is a little moment of fun, a delicious pause from the humdrum of everyday life, the campaign includes 12 distinctly off-the-wall ‘intermissions.’ Each spot was directed by talents spanning animation, art, film, and other creative fields, calling upon the skills of everyone from BAFTA nominees to brilliantly over-the-top illustrators. Each was given a simple, yet focused brief: create a moment of sweet-inspired madness that is just as striking and colourful as the sweets themselves — a lively break from the mundane.

Though the 20 second spots reference classic television ‘disruptions,’ they’re also sharp, fresh, and infectious moments of distraction. Visually distinct, each intermission reflects the experience of eating a specific sweet: “A Squidgy Intermission - Trampoline” features tiny figures bouncing off of the surfaces of Jelly Babies; “A Chunky Intermission - Drummer” stars a playful puppet banging away on Wine Gum drums; “A Chewy Intermission - Sheep” sees a sheep enjoying various Bertie’s Jelly Mix sweets — and so on. No two are alike, yet each radiates an unmistakably Maynards Bassetts sensibility. The campaign precedes the future launch of a new Maynards Bassetts sweet, which will also be accompanied by an intermission of its own. 

Innovative and contemporary, the intermissions were created using a range of techniques including icing sugar animation, stop-motion, and psychedelic-esque 2D animation, to name but a few. 

Katie Bashford, Senior Brand Manager of Joyful Candy, is decidedly excited about the landmark campaign: “We are excited to launch this TV campaign shortly after Maynards and Bassetts have come together to become the Number One adult candy brand . We have teamed up with several creatives to come up with a set of ‘tasty intermissions,’ and we believe we have a brilliant end result that will bring these well-loved British brands to the forefront of customers’ minds.” 

Wieden+Kennedy Creatives Max Batten and Ben Shaffery are similarly enthused about the project: “It’s been exciting to embrace a new way of working with such a diverse group of talented directors and animators. We think it’s a real thigh-slapper of a campaign and can’t wait to see it on-air.”

“A Tasty Intermission” launches on 25 April 2016, leading with “A Chunky Intermission - Drummer.” The campaign will run over six months, with various spots being rolled out over this period.

The spots were directed by Chris Bristow, Cartwright Gantz, Rob Flowers, Jonny Sabbagh & Will Harper, Nicos Livesey, Tom O’Meara, Seb Pietrovito (AKA Sebaldo) & Jack Sachs.