Client: Goodman Fielder
Creative teams: Steve Dodds, Grahame Smith, Dave Lidster, Hamish Spencer, Pete Bidenko
Brief: To remind people of Helga’s European heritage and put a stop to the decline in sales.

The Helga’s campaign ran across TV, online and press media, as well as taking advantage of a through-the-line promotion with partner PBL in ‘Things to try before you die’, which included online banners, TV stings and features in New Idea.

The concept was to create a ‘Helga’s Archive’, a back catalogue of European Helga’s ads from yesteryear. The TV spots captured the magic of the Italian1960s and 70s ‘dolce vita’ in ‘Helga’s Life’ and the wholesomeness of a 1960s German bakery in ‘First Kiss’. The archive feel was achieved by creating an ad within an ad, with the frame giving details of when and where the ‘archive’ ad was created. The story was further built through press, by simulating French and Italian ads from the 1940s and 50s using vintage-style illustrations.

The promotion extended the idea, partnering with PBL for a TTL approach. ‘Things to try before you die’ hosts encouraged people to enter competitions during European-focused segments. Banners on the NineMSN homepage and the TTTBYD pages in New Idea provided reinforcement.

November even saw a Helga’s European Film Festival running in both Sydney and Melbourne, a free event that developed the Helga’s story through association with European film.

Results for the campaign at the 3 month stage have been positive, with nearly 114,000 competition entries, strong Film Festival attendance and, most importantly, strong sales of the Helga’s loaf.