How JUST EAT hijacked the Corby Parliamentary By-Election – November 2012: Press Highlights
By Terry, January 17, 2013 2:24 pmPolitics and pizza are unusual bedfellows, but that combination was at the hub of a major stunt JUST EAT pulled in November 2012.
Following a complete overhaul of our brand positioning in September 2012, JUST EAT launched their new “Don’t Cook, JUST EAT” challenger brand positioning. The competitor we are challenging isn’t another advertiser – it was the very act of cooking. Positioning ourselves as “Anti-Cooking Rebels”, JUST EAT seeks to change the way people look at takeaway, helping hard-working consumers reject the convention of having to whip up cordon bleu meals at home and giving voice to millions who want to cry with anguish every time they step in the kitchen or, simply, want a night off.
If you look at history, most great rebellious movements had a political wing, and we are no different. So, to augment the launch of the “Don’t Cook, JUST EAT” TV ad campaign, JUST EAT set up the Don’t Cook Party (registered with the Electoral Commission) and nominated Mr Mozzarella, star of the campaign, to stand as its candidate in the Corby Parliamentary By-Election.
Whilst there is a tradition in Britain for eccentric independent candidates and madcap parties to contest local by-elections, JUST EAT is the first brand, ever, to create a political party and enter its brand character into an election. The strategy paid off, with media hailing Mr Mozzarella as the star of the show and congratulating him on upstaging all the other candidates, including the guy from Elvis Loves Pets Party and the elected Labour MP for Corby.
The Don’t Cook Party is a single issue political party whose main aim, like JUST EAT, is to liberate people from the tyranny of having to cook every single day. As well as striving to eradicate the pressure on the public to cook elaborate meals in fifteen minutes, the Don’t Cook Party also advocates a nationwide amnesty on useless kitchen gadgets, protection from the danger of hard root vegetables, wage equality between hard working restaurant chefs and celebrity chefs, and celebrating ‘Don’t Cook Sunday’ as a day of rest.
To announce his arrival in Corby, Mr. Mozzarella, dressed in chefs whites and bearing his oversized ladle, undertook a death defying stunt, flying 25 feet in the air over Corby town centre using a rocket propelled jet pack. The flight drew in local crowds and stunned passers-by and the awaiting media, firmly announcing Mr Mozzarella’s intent to bring a sense of drama, humour and theatre to the campaign trail, removed from traditional political canvassing.
Upon landing, he took to the streets of Corby, campaign team in tow, with all the posters, leaflets, rosettes and loud-hailer action you would expect to see on the campaign trail. He also had all the stuff you wouldn’t expect to see – balloon artists, who designed customized chefs hats; face painters, who decorated children’s faces with an array of Mr Mozzarella inspired moustaches; and cheerleaders, who performed dance routines with Mr Mozzarella to chart hits from Cheryl Cole and 1D!
The campaign was a huge success, with Mr Mozzarella’s face appearing all over the press and primetime news. The campaign caught the attention of lots of high profile politicians and celebs on Twitter, turning Mr Mozzarella into a cult figure overnight (so much so, that Labour Party leader Ed Miliband asked Mozz for a photo!) Unfortunately, Mr Mozzarella did not win the by-election, but he did secure a whopping 73 votes. Thank you people of Corby!
Hot off the Press!
. BBC Online
Meet the Corby and East Northants By-Election candidates
. MSN News
Mr Mozzarella announces intentions to stand at Corby By-Election with party political broadcast
. Northants Telegraph
Mr Mozzarella meets Labour candidate on campaign trail
. Northants Telegraph
Look who’s trending on Twitter…
. Northants Telegraph
Mr Mozzarella of the Don’t Cook Party lands in Corby via jet pack!
. The Times
Mr Mozzarella takes centre stage at Election Count
. ITV online
Check out who takes no1. position in ITV’s Pictures of the Day!
. Huffington Post
Mr Mozzarella featured in The Huff’s, Pictures of the Day
. MSN News
Everyone at the declaration was upstaged by Mr Mozzarella. By-elections always attract independent candidates, sometimes of an eccentric nature. In Corby that honour fell to Mr Mozzarella, whose antics during the announcement of the results brought some much-needed humour to proceedings. He managed to stand directly behind the victorious Labour candidate during his victory speech, thereby appearing live on all the main news channels.
