This French Donut Brand Asks an Important Snack Question

Children always have an unexpected question on their lips. Even at 4 o'clock, with a St Michel Donuts in their hand, they are the type to wonder: 'Who actually invented the snack?'

For its comeback on screens, St Michel decided to tackle this fundamental question by letting children's imagination speak.

From Prehistory to the beginning of the century, through the Revolution and polar exploration, the new series of St Michel films takes us on a journey to discover a gallery of about ten famous and wacky historical characters.

Which one of them invented the 4 o’clock snack? Hard to say, as they are all clumsy and unlucky.

In fact, for once, neither the children, nor the dad, nor even the brand have the answer. All are forced to admit one thing: 'We don’t know who invented the 4 o’clock snack, but we know who made it that good'

The new brand signature of St Michel Snacks imagined by the agency perfectly translates this unique moment that represents the snack in the daily life of children.

A free moment, without constraints, during which they can express their personality and their imagination in a joyful and spontaneous way.

Cédric Lunel, St-Michel marketing director said, "Everything started from our precious exchanges with the agency in order to become the reference of the well-made snack for the whole family. The VML teams started by proposing a transversal signature for all our activation points 'St Michel Snacks, the best time is 4 o'clock !', before unrolling on this brilliant idea of film "Who invented the 4 o’clock snack?". With a production quality that honours the quality of our products, this new platform will seduce young and old gourmets!"

Adrien Mancel, VML France adds, "We wanted to speak to children as well as adults, with stories at the border of worlds. Funny, absurd but never infantilising."

Virgile Brodziak, VML France adds, "This campaign embodies VML's mission: to create connected brands. Who better than St Michel to demonstrate the link between a heritage recognised by all and the connection with the new expectations of consumers, whether in terms of modern advertising discourse or products?"

This is the first integrated St Michel campaign developed by the WPP group agency following the budget win announced a year ago. The campaign was launched on February 5th and will go on throughout the month. This device will also be reinforced by broadcasts of the 15 and 10 second versions in OLV and on social networks.

The media device was developed by Essence Mediacom.

The films were directed by Owen. T Black, a director known for his sense of comedy and absurdity.