Pantastic Day

So, on possibly the tastiest of all days, some brands look to interact with all the tossers out there through the medium of pancakes and perhaps more significantly, the vast array of toppings.

The sad passing of Michele Ferrero (founder of Ferrero Rocher and inventor of Nutella) over the weekend may see the spread of nostalgic nutty pancakes as a favoured topping selection, but somewhat surprisingly it's plain old sugar and lemon that has grabbed our attention.

All-in-all, things have been a little quiet on the pun-cake front, though there has been one noteworthy campaign which has caused some heated debate.

Cars and pancakes are not traditional bedfellows, but Dacia has tried to cook up something a bit different by taking either full page or page-dominant spaces in the front half of the quality, mid-market and free commuter press titles this morning.

There have been differing reactions at Pure Towers as to the way they've thrown themselves into the mix. As with our respective choices of pancake toppings there is a mix of taste - some think they've subtly battered the competition, whereas others think it's more like they've fallen a bit flat and ended up with egg on their face.

Firstly, the nay-sayers: For a car that "starts at £5,995" selecting the higher-end titles seems slightly incongruous with the price-point. Given that Dacia are presumably aiming for those looking at a second or third car, perhaps an image of the mystery car(s) to entice a buyer in would be a good idea rather than relying solely on the numbers.

Pancakes are undoubtedly powerful influencers, but we're not sure that they can ensure a relatively unrecognised brand sell lots of cars. Even with maths in their corner (NB: a pancake shouldn't really have corners), a couple of the PM crew feel there is a real disconnect here.

On the 'flip' side, there are others who believe the ads are highly impactful - both in the understated creative and the dominant page positions. The simplicity of the messaging reflects the simplicity of the offer (and presumably the car).

The fact that they have used Pancake Day as a creative medium is smart, catchy and offers an effective alternative to the standard formula that seems to pervade our print media (inspirational/ quirky car image + price/ special offer + terms and conditions = car ad).

We'll let you make up your own minds, but as a final aside this is amazing

Enjoy!