Marmite, the brand infamous for sparking feelings of love or hate in consumers, is encouraging audiences to get cooking and use the savoury spread as a versatile ingredient. 

A new campaign from the brand titled ‘Dishes of Love and Hate’ is made up of close up images of delicious looking food that all feature Marmite as a key ingredient. However, on closer inspection, some of the other ingredients in the dishes seem to be more excited than others. Within the meals chillis, croutons and pasta shapes resemble faces, either loving or hating the addition of marmite. 

The campaign comes in response to the changing ways people are eating Marmite. While the number of those that choose Marmite on toast as their breakfast has dropped to 18% from 62%, there has been a 37% increase in people using Marmite in cooking.

Top chefs and food influencers such as Nigella Lawson, Monica Galetti and Sat Bains all choose Marmite in cooking for its high-umami and deep savoury flavour. While at home, popular dishes are being given a Marmite twist as people get more experimental with the spread.

“Chefs, home cooks and foodies have been using Marmite in their recipes for years. Marmite wants to inspire more people to do the same, which gave us a brilliant opportunity to show the love-it-or-hate-it spread being used in a new way. So, we created delicious meals made with Marmite, only for the ingredients to be subtly divided by the new addition. Personally, I love it,” says Matt Gay, Executive Creative Director, Adam&eve\TBWA.

Leaning into the versatility of the products and paying homage to all the chefs who love to experiment, the new campaign extends Marmite’s love and hate message to new food areas.

The campaign runs OOH and press media at sites and publications including Metro and The Sun, through April.

“We’re bringing the joy of cooking with Marmite to everyone - and showing that its bold flavour works just as well in everyday dishes as it does on your morning slice of toast,” added Morgan McAuley, Senior Brand Manager at Unilever.