The Best Work You May Never See: adam&eveDDB, Director Henry-Alex Rubin Recruit Marmite Smugglers To Spread The Love Stateside

Unilever’s Marmite has called on loyal fans in the U.K. to spread the love in its new cross-border campaign created by adam&eveDDB London and New York. The Unilever brand is going to extreme lengths to get jars of the sticky breakfast spread into the U.S. for desperate British expats hankering for their Marmite fix.

Surveys regularly show that Marmite is one of the most missed products by expats, and right now, over 700,000 Brits living in the US have little or no access to Marmite. So, for this new campaign,”Smugglers,”  Marmite is recruiting daring volunteers in the U.K. to sneak the spread into the U.S. in a trans-Atlantic show of support for expats.

This 90-second exposé-style “Smugglers” film reveals the extent of the Marmite drought in New York, and documents the lengths that real Marmite smugglers are going in order to spread the supply across borders.

Willing smugglers have been hauling jars of Marmite on their flights to New York, and are instructed to hand over the goods upon their arrival stateside. As a thank you for their selfless act, each smuggler has received a special edition ‘Smuggler’ jar of Marmite.

Within the first 48 hours of the campaign, Marmite received over 500 applicants willing to help spread the Marmite love.

Henry-Alex Rubin directed this spot. He is appropriately enough with production house SMUGGLER.

Richard Brim, chief creative officer at adam&eveDDB, said, “The one thing Sting failed to mention whilst being an Englishman in New York was the distinct lack of Marmite. It’s real. So by enlisting willing Brits to smuggle jars of the spread through customs, we’re continuing to spread the love to our compatriots across the pond.”