Italian olive oil maker Bertolli, intent on securing its place as one of this country’s most popular olive oils, is launching the biggest ad campaign it has ever launched in Canada.
The ‘Another Italian Masterpiece’ campaign, which plays off of Bertolli’s premium place in the olive oil category, includes magazine, tv and radio, and launches in October.
‘It’s a new move for Bertolli,’ says Ken Davis, president of Bertolli’s Canadian ad agency psl (Promotion Studio Limited).
Davis says the campaign is a sure sign that the olive oil maker, which until now has been fairly low-key, is starting to become more aggressive.
‘We want to make sure that we remain the leader,’ says Vince Cardillo, eastern sales manager for Bertolli Canada, based in Laval, Que.-based company. The company says that, according to ACNielsen figures, its brands occupy six of the top 10 olive oil skus in the country, with its Extra Virgin brand enjoying No. 1 status in terms of sales.
psl’s Davis says the company is concentrating on maintaining its status because there’s more stock out there (thanks to higher olive yields in Italy). But the fact that olive oil, which used to be a specialty product coveted by foodies, has become mainstream – prompting the introduction of private label brands – surely plays a part in the decision to advertise on a large scale.
According to ACNielsen, total sales of olive oils for the 52 weeks ended May 24, 1997, grew 24% to $47 million, with extra virgin olive oil (the priciest version) showing the most growth, at 50%.
Bertolli’s magazine component, created by the company’s u.s. agency, Gianettino & Meredith of New Jersey and adapted for Canada by psl, has two executions: one featuring sheet music from a Verdi opera and the other a Da Vinci painting, placed beside a bottle of the imported oil, under the headline, ‘Another Italian Masterpiece.’
The ads will appear in both French- and English-language women’s magazines such as Chatelaine, Homemakers, Coup de Pouce and Reader’s Digest, along with Toronto Life as well as the trade magazine Grocer Today, distributed in Western Canada.
tv spots, also from the u.s., will appear on Canadian specialty services (Life Network and hgtv) and focus on the everyday uses of Bertolli olive oil.
Meanwhile, psl radio spots in Toronto and Montreal will further highlight the masterpiece theme with Italian opera playing in the background.
According to Davis, the radio commercials will tie in to a promotion that will offer listeners the chance to win a trip for two to either Italy (for Toronto listeners) or Little Italy, New York (for listeners in Montreal).
Playing up the upscale image of Bertolli – available in Classico, Extra Light (developed for North American palates) and Extra Virgin (the most expensive of the three) – is important because the company targets upper-income women, aged 25-49.
However, the price of olive oils – including Bertolli’s – has actually dropped, says Cardillo. He says while olive oil makers weren’t necessarily engaged in a price war, there was some slashing of prices by Bertolli’s competitors in order to gain market share.
‘We were a little high and we narrowed the gap,’ he says, adding that a year ago, prices for top-of-the-line olive oils were anywhere from $12 to $14 for one litre. Today, that same litre can be bought for $8 or $9, he says.
The Bertolli campaign runs through the spring of ’98.
