Tetley ‘Spills the Tea’ to a New Generation via 303 MullenLowe

Representing a seismic shift to its branding, iconic global tea brand Tetley has launched a category-breaking new campaign aimed at repositioning tea among a new generation of consumers, developed by 303 MullenLowe. 

The new integrated Spill the Tea campaign taps into the need for connection and being ‘in the know’, showcasing tea as a catalyst for uniting over a cup and exchanging gossip, secrets, personal confessions, controversial opinions, or exclusive news.  

Live across film, outdoor, radio and social, it aims to tackle the fact that consumers aged 18-35 often don’t view tea as an option, often choosing to participate in the nations love affair with coffee, craft beers and the fast-growing category of non-alcoholic substitutes. 

“The fact is, unlike alcohol which comes with a spectrum of consequences increasingly shunned by younger Australians, or coffee which is used more as an accelerant while on the go, tea has the unique power to make people pause, be more present and let the conversation start flowing.  This is something we identified in the strategy development as a growing need among a generation that’s ironically feeling more disconnected than ever, and knew it would form an important consideration in the creative,” explained 303 MullenLowe Managing Director Joanna Gray.   

Chief Creative Officer Bart Pawlak said the creative solution addressed these issues: “Our brief was to take Tetley by the string and unceremoniously yank it out of an arguably stuffy tea category, moving the brand away from the familiar world of wellness, tea cosies and quaint hill country plantations. And, in the process, reimagining tea’s role for a new generation.  

“Positioning Tetley as a catalyst for the type of connection that, if online habits are anything to go by, younger Australians love to indulge in most – sharing hot gossip, scintillating secrets and eyebrow-raising revelations - in a way that is perhaps more present than what coffee or alcohol can offer. Best of all, we had a ready-made brand platform, entrenched in the target audience’s current vernacular. All that was left for us to do was spill it.” 

A British icon with a heritage of more than 180 years, Tetley Tea appointed 303 MullenLowe Sydney as lead integrated communications partner as part of a brand rejuvenation in 2022. 

Divya Shrivastava - TATA Head of Marketing, ANZ said: “The challenge for us was to find a way to reinvigorate the Tetley brand and in doing so reposition the entire category in the minds of younger audiences – without alienating our loyal 55+ customer base.  The result is a brand platform with a tonality that is unfamiliar in what can sometimes be a conservative tea category, and as such it quite effortlessly elevates Tetley out of the clutter.  And it will no doubt see more Australians Spill the Tea with Tetley.” 

303 MullenLowe Creative Leads Katie Moore and Nick Sellars concluded: “Our inspiration came from real, trending Instagram and Facebook posts. We held up a mirror to our audience and reflected the O-M-G moments that matter to them; then we flipped the switch on how these moments are spilt.  

“In our film and poster work our irreverent approach was designed to compete for our distracted audience’s attention and convey the power of tea to totally immerse those sharing it, in the moment. TL;DR — no matter what’s brewing, we made Tetley synonymous with spilling the tea.”