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Sam, the resident 5 year old, asked me for a cup of tea the other day. But, he announced, I want the one with the monkey.  "What monkey?" says I, somewhat bemused.  "The one with the dancing monkey..." repeated a very definite sounding Sam.  Then it clicked.  

If you're in the UK, you can't have failed to see the launch of the new ad for PG Tips: it was one and a half minutes that completed captured the attention of a 5 year old (far longer than Peter and I can hold his attention for, I can assure you).

And so, I put the kettle on and made Sam his cup of tea. "But is it the monkey tea?" he demanded..."Yes" came a rather weary reply from yours truly.  It's very fortunate that I personally only have PG Tips in the house, otherwise I would have had days of badgering for "The Monkey Tea" every few minutes until I finally gave in. Or cracked up.

What does this little domestic scene at Chateau Merriebank tell us?  

Well, for one that I'm loyal to just one particular brand of tea, but I don't suppose that's particularly relevant to your marketing plans.  

Secondly that advertising is alive and well and working. This ad was in a break on Nick Jr (a channel for pre-schoolers and early school goers).  The 3 to 5 year olds watching won't be PG Tips' target audience; the mums who are watching will be.  

BUT....assuming PG carry on with the Monkey ads (and they've been running them for some time, originating with the live chimps in the early days) then Sam is going to recognise the Monkey in the next ad, and the next - and guess what he'll remember when he's old enough to choose and buy his own tea brand?

I think the real lesson that we, as business owners, can take out - is in the humour and positioning of the ad.  There's about 5 - 10 seconds of the spoken word in this entire 90 second ad.  And those words aren't about the tea itself.  

PG have set themselves apart; they have positioned themselves in a very different place in the market by having an advertising strategy that focuses around humour.  They still manage to get their serious ethical message across in their overall marketing, and the fact that they only pick the top two leaves and the bud of the plant (hence 'tips') and so get the optimum taste, but they haven't crammed all that into the ad itself.  What they are doing is drawing people in with the humour of their ads and through creating a whole sub-brand in Monkey (go to www.PGTips.co.uk and you can buy yourself a pair of Monkey slippers!).

Judging by the amount of views on You Tube, they obviously have quite a following.  And ads like these go viral - ie where people send links to their friends because something is that good and it captures the imagination.  Look up Tetley, Yorkshire Tea and Twinings tea in You Tube and you'll see how much considerably lower the amount of viewings are on their ads.  These are all perfectly good quality teas, but what Unilever have done with PG Tips is set themselves apart - and have got a greater following because of it.

Bring this lesson back home and look in the back of any local paper, any local shop or Post Office, and you will see ads and flyers for small businesses.  It’s really difficult for a prospective customer to choose between one or the other.  Therefore if you want people flocking to you, then you need to raise your game and have a marketing strategy that sets you apart from everyone else out there.  

Do something completely different, use humour if you like, but definitely do something different. Get noticed.  Be where your target audience is not necessarily expecting you. Use a message that gets attention.  Don't try and cram all your information into one promotional message either.

Be bold, be brave, be different and definitely be out there.

"Champion the right to be yourself, dare to be different and to set your own pattern; live your own life and follow your own star."

Wilfred Peterson