RVP Foods has appointed Doner Cardwell Hawkins and Booth Lockett
Makin to rejuvenate its frozen Chinese meals brand, Oriental Express,
and launch three products in the range.
The brief, which RVP is backing with a pounds 2.5 million budget,
includes advertising for the existing stir-fry mixes, but is expected to
concentrate on introducing the new products and building the Oriental
Express brand itself. Doner Cardwell is in the process of creating a TV
campaign for next year to launch the new products, which include
microwaveable noodles, stir-fry dishes and spring rolls.
Doner Cardwell and BLM pitched together against full-service teams from
Roose & Partners, the Union and Ingenia for the business, which was
resigned by Leo Burnett in August.
Burnetts had held the account since RVP Foods performed a management
buyout in 1996 from its parent company, Ross Foods, which remains under
the ownership of United Biscuits.
Oriental Express hasn’t advertised since 1997 when it launched a
campaign positioning the stir-fry brand as ’Food you just have to
cook.’
It is the biggest Chinese food brand in the UK, accounting for half the
frozen oriental food market.
Paul Cardwell, the creative director of Doner Cardwell, said: ’It is a
perfect piece of business: an entrepreneurial group of clients, a range
of great products and a genuine role for TV advertising.’
Sandy Sewell, the marketing director of RVP Foods, said: ’The agencies
demonstrated a commitment and desire to understand our business and
interpret our brief. They weren’t afraid to be challenging and radical.’
