Media&Marketing: Nothing could be more Irish than Tayto crisps. First produced using two deep fat fryers in a shop off Moore Street by Joe Murphy, the brand is akin to a national snack food icon.
The yellow man in the red overalls, known as Mr Tayto, may have had his way in the crisp market for decades but throughout the past month Walkers has been trying to out-Irish even Mr Tayto.
The company's advertisement showing (whisper it) ex-English soccer star Gary Lineker in Croke Park has caused a flurry in marketing and advertising circles, with people joking about the crisp wars.
The attempt to "Irish-ise" a British brand by ironically placing Lineker in the hallowed stands of Croke Park is likely to intensify the rivalry between Tayto and Walkers.
New figures from the Institute of Advertising Practitioners Ireland (IAPI) show that heavy spending by both firms has continued into 2003, with Walkers spending €192,029 in the first three months of this year. Tayto has spent considerably less at about €51,000.
However, these figures do not take account of the Lineker campaign by Walkers, which involves Gaelic football players Ciarán Whelan of Dublin and Kerry's Darragh Ó Se.
Ireland International developed the ad.
Ms Orlaith Blaney, managing director of McCann Erickson, commented that "the Walkers ads are undoubtedly stronger than the recent Tayto ads".
"Gary Lineker is very likeable and having a well-known English soccer player, now commentator, sitting in Croke Park is a strong move by Irish International.
"Non-Irish brands, like Walkers, see this market as key, and AC Nielsen reports that, after two years, they have 25 per cent share of the crisp market, so it's been, overall, an effective communications strategy," she said.
Walkers deny that the Croke Park ad is an attempt to Irish-ise the brand.
"Our objective was to develop the best ticket promotion for Irish consumers, both in terms of appeal and relevance, rather than specifically making the brand more Irish," said a spokeswoman.
How Tayto responds to Walkers's latest salvo should prove interesting. The company declined to comment yesterday, but product manager Mr Dara O'Donnell recently said there were no plans to ditch Mr Tayto in the face of the Walkers onslaught. "The Tayto brand is synonymous with Ireland and Mr Tayto is a much-loved brand icon. This marketing strategy is an evolutionary process with more developments planned."
Following Dunphy
Planning for the new talk show on TV3 continues in the station's headquarters in Ballymount Industrial Estate.
Mr Stuart Carolan, a former associate of Eamon Dunphy, is on board. But now one of the team from Matt Cooper's the Last Word has decided to join the Dunphy show, which has yet to acquire a name.
The highly regarded Ms Eimear Bradley, with the Last Word since its inception six-and-half years ago, is to shortly join the Dunphy team.
The loss of Ms Bradley, who has produced and researched some of the most memorable Last Word shows, is a loss for Matt Cooper, but the show has proved to be resilient in the face of much recent competition.
Online dating
Competition is growing in one of the few online areas to make any money - dating. The latest operator is date.ie, which promises a safe forum for Ireland's single community. The brand aims to establish itself as a premium Irish dating brand.
It will compete against existing players such as www.maybefriends.com,www.anotherfriend.com and www.match.com
Date.ie is owned by Date Online Limited, established by Mr Colin Joyce, Mr Brian O'Neill and Mr Stephen Conway; the founders of Adculture, the first all-island interactive advertising agency, set up in April 2000.
E-paper for 'Times'
The London Times is set to offer an online copy of its paper product at the end of the month.
According to media site Brand Republic, from May 28th the electronic paper or "e-paper" will be distributed daily to readers who currently subscribe to the Times online.
The daily edition of the e-paper will be joined by an electronic version of the Sunday Times later in the year.
The online Times e-paper will be available only in the US and Asia-Pacific region, at least initially.
The product will be a copy of the final edition of the Times, including all supplements, and will be available from 5 a.m. GMT at the latest - late evening in New York, lunchtime in the Far East and late afternoon in Australia. Users will be able to browse pages, click on articles and ads to enlarge them, and search the content.
Advertising matrix
Some of the biggest product placement deals of the year will be in evidence when the movie Matrix: Re-Loaded hits Irish cinema screens tomorrow.
According to the US advertising press, one of the biggest companies involved is General Motors (GM), which has managed to get its cadillacs featured in the movie, without paying a placement fee.
The sequel to the 1999 blockbuster The Matrix features a 15-minute chase scene involving cadillacs. A spokeswoman described the movie deal as GM's largest product placement, although the automaker didn't pay to have its CTS sedan and Escalade EXT vehicles used in the film.
Since the movie was filmed before either model went on sale, the company provided two dozen pre-production versions. Pre-production models can cost some $200,000 (€174,000) each.
Marketing or media news can be emailed to eoliver@irish-times.ie
