Mad Angles: the 2007 launch spoof

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A new snack brand needs people to notice both its name and the unfamiliar shapes on the shelf. Bingo’s 2007 launch used deliberately odd television situations to make recognition part of the entertainment. The Mad Angles execution borrowed the exaggerated manner of dubbed teleshopping. It belonged to a wider set of launch films, each giving a product or name a memorable comic treatment.

ITC’s launch release identifies Mad Angles as inspired by khakra and places it within the new finger-snack range. Contemporary reporting describes the teleshopping spoof and credits Ogilvy & Mather. This case is the original launch execution, not the later boardroom or triangle campaigns. That distinction matters because a long-running brand’s creative devices can otherwise get merged into a fictional single launch.

The mechanism was recognisable format disruption. Viewers knew the conventions of enthusiastic sales demonstrations; the film used those conventions as comic material while introducing the product. For an unknown brand, the joke has to deliver identification as well as amusement. A memorable scene is not enough if people cannot connect it to the pack they will encounter later.

A smaller food launch can use a familiar presentation format in an original way, while keeping the product clearly visible and accurately described. Test the film and a shelf image together: can someone recognise the pack after seeing the joke? Give each execution one product task rather than packing the entire range into every asset. Sampling and availability still have to support the media promise.

No market-share or sales increase is attributed to this one execution. Distribution, product development, price and the broader launch all contributed to the commercial context. The reusable lesson is that humour can teach recognition when the brand and product are built into the mechanism. Borrowing a format should create an original idea, not copy another advertiser’s distinctive characters or script.

Build recognition into humour

Make the product part of the joke’s mechanism.

Keep executions distinct

Do not confuse later brand films with the launch.

Check the shelf connection

Test whether viewers can recognise the pack afterwards.

A small test for another brief

Create an original product introduction using a familiar presentation convention.

Unaided brand recall and correct shelf recognition.

Stop if the joke obscures the product or copies protected creative assets.

• Choose one distinctive product feature.
• Write a short parody in which that feature is essential.
• Test brand and pack recall after a delay.