Chip off the old block

As one of those who emigrated to the UK in the depressed Ireland of the late 80s, I would often pay a visit to the Irish Centre in Reading to reconnect with the old sod. A real treat on any visit was the opportunity to buy some Tayto at the bar ( I think they were actually called King crsips because of some licensing isssue - point is we always referred to them as Tayto).

So for me Tayto is one of the few remaining quentissentially Irish brands out there, and one I therefore take more than a passing interest in. Tayto has a new Mr Tayto is Looking for Love campaign that's running on TV and has also some dedicated social media sites such as its own Bebo page. When I was interviewing Piaras Kelly recently on the radio show, he mentioned it a good example a good integrated campaign. It prompts the question though, of how much of the brand's values can actually be infused in the brand character, particularly when in a sense, everyone's relationship with Mr Tayto, until fairly recent times was an individually defined one.