Each execution centres around an enormous image of the Jonut itself, with the Jaffa Jonut’s logo in the bottom right corner. The biscuit bosses say their new creation is sure to 'spark further conversation' as the biscuit or cake debate continues. Featuring a hero Jonut shot from multiple delicious angles and the unmistakable Jaffa Cakes layers of chocolate, sponge and tangy orange center, as one execution playfully explains: ‘All yum breaks loose.’” The hybrid proposition of the doughnut works particularly well for the Jaffa Cakes brand, Babb adds, because it has been playing into the debate of whether it is a cake or a biscuit since 1991. A court case between Her Majesty’s Customers and Excise and McVitie’s ruled at the time that a Jaffa Cake was in fact a cake and could therefore avoid VAT.

Clues on the sculpture’s location will be available on Jaffa Cakes social media channels to give Jaffanatics the chance of getting their hands on their free Jonuts The aim of the launch ad campaign was therefore primarily around building awareness and appeal to drive product trial. It follows Jaffa Cake bars and mini rolls as well as flavour variations of pineapple, cherry and passion fruit alongside the original orange.Speaking to Marketing Week, McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes marketing manager, Sarah Babb, says “keeping it really simple” was a key focus for the team when creating the ad. Biscuit, cake or… doughnut? Merging a Jaffa Cake and a doughnut is a food combination nobody asked for, but many have been tempted to try after seeing the brand’s outdoor advertising campaign. Launching today in London, Jaffanatics who can find the giant Jonut sculpture – which has been created as an exact replica of the more-ish treat – can get their hands on some free Jaffa Jonuts to enjoy.

In February, the brand launched a new platform to play off this history: ‘Be what you want to be’. The Jonut launch was designed to build further on that proposition, and the response from consumers has been “really positive”, Babb says. Source: United Biscuits/Pladis Unwanted Food or Drink Products - Once supply conditions are broken, there are a number of factors outside of our control that can affect the quality of a product. Therefore perishable goods such as food and drink cannot be returned. The original and much-loved Jaffa Cake consists of a springy sponge base topped with orange flavoured filling similar to jelly and a layer of patterned dark chocolate. For its Jaffa Jonut avatar, its shape has changed from regular mounded biscuit to doughnut shaped ring.

Driving long- and short-term results

Billed as the love child between a Jaffa Cake and a donut, the Frankensteinian confection marks the most ambitious move yet by the McVitie’s brand to cater for an evolving market with an expanded product line including its Nibbles range. With new TV and digital advertising restrictions on high fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) foods looming, the Jonuts campaign is also a “great example” of how brands affected by the regulations can continue to launch new innovations elsewhere, Kantar’s Deason adds.

Meanwhile, B&M is now selling mint cookie and caramel stuffed KitKats - and they sound perfect for chocolate fans. We wanted to just hero and dramatise the product,” Babb says. “[OOH] allowed us to be very single minded and very visually driven, to drive the visual appeal and those brand assets.” They're joining the growing Jaffa family alongside the Orange, Pineapple, Cherry and Passion Fruit JaffaCakes flavours not to mention Jaffa Cake Bars and those tasty Jaffa Mini Rolls.Babb says: “One of the things that we found really important when we were doing the creative was that we got the right tone and the playful tonality coming through. Longer term, Kantar expects that while product experience will be key to sustaining sales, the ad has strong potential to contribute towards longer-term success for the brand. In 1927, McVitie & Price introduced the Jaffa Cake, named after Jaffa oranges, containing a simple combination of sugar and tangerine oil to form the sealed layer of jam in the middle. The latest variation of the 94-year-old British classic - a Jonut - is a doughnut-shaped ring of sponge with the staple orange-flavoured filling and a dark chocolate coating. In fact, the Jaffa Jonuts campaign is September’s most creatively effective out-of-home (OOH) ad, according to Kantar, thanks to its potential to drive both long- and short-term business impact.

According to Babb, the Jonut was conceived to tap into new eating occasions and to excite “Jaffanatics”. Consumers are looking for more new ways to enjoy the brands and products they love, she says, and Jaffa Cakes didn’t want to be left behind. That meant utilising the brand’s iconic blue and orange colouring, “dramatising” the product to drive appeal and intrigue, and being “playful” with the way it was brought to life through copy. Far from settling the debate of whether a Jaffa Cake is really a cake or biscuit, the playful minds at McVitie's have gone one step further to create something even more unique. Asked why McVitie’s focused on outdoor advertising for its campaign, Babb says it saw OOH as the space that was going to be “most impactful” for a campaign it wanted to be “very visual”. When a product is this good, the communications almost write themselves as the campaign focuses on showing the Jaffa Jonuts in all their mouthwatering glory.Deason explains: “The ad is playing its role in building salience for the brand and primarily a sense of differentiation, while also building warmth towards the brand and a feeling that it meets needs.” Navigating HFSS restrictions These Jaffa creations are described as a magic Jaffa combo with a twist. A soft dougnuty shaped sponge, filled with tangy orange filling, and topped with the classic Jaffa chocolate!⁣" McVitie’s are giving away thousands of free Jaffa Jonuts – the delicious new fusion between a Jaffa Cake and a doughnut – as part of the Giant Jaffa Jonut Hunt, which will take place in London, Birmingham and Cardiff over the coming weeks.