The ultimate sandwich debate
Walkers wanted to fend off own-label challenges by forging a role for itself at lunchtime, reigniting the age-old debate: do crisps belong in or out of your sandwich? The goal was to make Walkers the undisputed hero of lunch by sparking a national conversation, giving people a delicious reason to pick up a pack.
We tapped into a uniquely British food ritual - the crisp sandwich - and reignited the #CrispIN vs #CrispOUT debate. Partnering with sandwich connoisseur Max Halley of Max’s Sandwich Shop, we created a limited-edition crisp sandwich menu, including a Monster Munch Pickled Onion special. The campaign brought Walkers into the heart of lunchtime culture. We also on-boarded regional sandwich shops across the UK to get their customers to join the debate, selling a #CrispIn #CrispOut sandwich menu.
To fuel the conversation, we launched a playful, limited-edition cookbook featuring 20 new crisp sandwich recipes co-created with Max Halley. From guacamole breakfast baps to roast dinner leftovers, each recipe celebrated the joy of crisps in sandwiches. The book was available via a social media competition, driving organic buzz and engagement. What’s more, we enlisted A-list talent including Olly Murs, Laura Whitmore, Asim Chaudhry and Gordon Ramsay to share their crisp sandwich preferences, fuelling the debate across social. We also asked comedian, Asim Chaudhry to recreate the viral Gordon Ramsay ‘Idiot Sandwich’ clip with the man himself to gain further traction online.
This was a fully integrated campaign seeing Splendid lead a cross agency, through the line team, amplifying and bringing to life the #CrispIN #CrispOUT comms platform that rolled out in OOH, ATL, TVC and shopper.
This was year four of the Crisp In / Crisp Out platform and its biggest yet. The campaign organically evolved from a quirky food debate into a cultural calendar moment and ongoing British debate.
