Tetley shows tea's true meaning

Tetley, Britain’s iconic tea brand from the beverages division of Tata Consumer Products, have launched their most ambitious repositioning campaign for a decade, under the title “Britain’s Tea”. 

Created by Pablo, the campaign will launch in the UK in April, 2025 with a £5.5m investment, designed to reach heavy tea drinkers in their homes throughout the yea

The campaign represents a major landmark for the Tetley brand, which has long been associated with the Tea Folk campaign from the 80s and 90s, featuring the much-loved animated character, Gaffer. The departure from the Tea Folk after a sustained period of low comms activity for the brand reflects the brand’s appetite for a bold and unique way to reach tea drinkers in 2025 in the context of new competition and shifting consumer tastes.The campaign is built from the insight that there is a deeper emotional meaning behind tea  - it’s used to show care for each other, often implicitly saying things the British might feel uncomfortable saying aloud. With the highest household penetration of any tea brand in Britain, from this stems a simple truth: Tetley is present in more people’s homes, more people’s conversations and more people’s lives than other brand of tea, making it an ubiquitous mechanism for showing care. Tetley is Britain’s Tea. 

In the new work, this simple truth celebrates just what it means to be Britain’s tea, getting to the heart of what’s really going on across Britain every second when we’re making and sharing cups of tea with one another. How so often the act of making a cup of tea for someone expresses more than our words ever can. By owning this emotive space for tea, Tetley believes it can become not just Britain’s best known tea brand, but it’s most-loved.

In “The Crush”, tea helps a nervous student pluck up the courage to initiate a conversation with his romantic interest across the room. In “Twinkletoes”, a married couple use tea to lift the mood after an awkward foray into Salsa dancing. In “Timeless”, we see how tea is a symbol of enduring love in a comfortably quiet relationship between an elderly couple. Finally, in “WFH”, we capture a glimpse of how tea enables an ovulating partner to interrupt a tedious conference call to get on with the basics of family planning. 

Directed by Tom Speers through SMUGGLER, the films collectively and individually reveal Tetley to be the social glue of Britain, providing its diverse landscape of people a universal tool for bonding, care and a sense of togetherness. 

Mat Bird, Marketing Director for Tata Consumer Products, said: “It’s a privilege to have the opportunity to make this iconic British brand famous again. Everybody in Britain knows Tetley tea but we had forgotten what makes it special - the true emotion behind the act of making it and sharing it. This campaign is a proud reminder of all the care we show each other with Tetley, and we hope that will inspire the nation to take that blue box out of kitchen cupboards and onto tables with friends and family”. 

Gareth Mercer, Founder and CEO of Pablo London, said “Tetley is at the center of what’s happening in Britain now. We grew up with this, we have laughed over this, we have cried around this, we have seen baby steps around this. Tetley is an iconic brand that sees the lives of Britain's. It is designed to uplift us and so is the work. Thank you Mat, Phil, James and David. 

“Best regards”!

Essence MediaCom handled media planning and buying. The campaign will first air on British TV on April 7th 2025 and continue throughout the year. 

Credits

Brand

Marketing Director: Mat Bird

Senior Consultant: Phil Chapman

Senior Brand Manager: James Parton 

Pablo London

CEO: Gareth Mercer

Executive Creative Director: Dan Watts

Creative Directors: Tom Woodington, Robin Temple.

Creatives: Adam Reincke, Tom Woodington, Robin Temple.

Chief Strategy Officer: Mark Sng

Planning Director: Summer Taylor

Client Partner: Eve Bui

Senior Account Director: Dom Kocur

Account Manager: Suzanne Stewart

Project Managers: Emily Rutledge, Kelly Watts

Head of Operations: Ben Mascari

Agency Producer: Rebecca Forrester

Production Company: SMUGGLER:

Director: Tom Speers 

Managing Director: Fergus Brown

Managing Director: Lucy Kelly 

Producer: Daisy Mostyn

Production Manager: Ellie Sanders Wright 

Production Assistant: Kamran Marzban

Editors - Tenthree

Producer: Sophie Honour 

Editor: Eve Ashwell

Assistant Editor: Jules Bayer-Crier 

VFX: Magic Numbers 

VFX Supervisor: Fasa Oyibo

VFX Producer: Anandi Peiris 

 Grade - Harbour: 

Colourist: Toby Tomkins

Producer: Hannah Jarrold

Colour assists: Mara Ciorba & Sophie Sugrue 

Sound Post Production - Sine

Producer: Beth Toblins 

Sound Engineer: Phil Bolland

Additional Production credits (SMUGGLER):

Location Manager: Rupert Bowkett @bowkett

Location Assistant: Will Buckley 

1st AD: Benji Edwards @benjjji

2nd AD: Maya Armon @Maya_armon 

Runner: Oscar Ginn @Ojginn

Runner: Gabe Salariya 

Runner: Monty Chaudoir @Monty_corp

Production Runner: Jess De Laval Willis @Jessdelavalwillis

Jnr Runner: Arman Sikdar

DOP: Patrick Meller @patrickmeller_dop

1st AC: Jeff Vine @jeffvine

2nd AC: Clem Herry @clem_herry

Camera Trainee: Anastasia Soviak-Krukouska 

Camera Op: Claire Pie @clairepiedop 

1st AC: Abigail Catto 

Dit: Phoebe Fraser Suz

Grip: Malcolm Mcgilchrist Wiz 

Camera Car Driver: Anthony Bugge 

Video Playback: Nat Valente @natvalente

Sound Recordist: Mike Palmer 

Gaffer: Rueben Garrett 

Best Boy: Matthew Butler 

Electrician: Jude Garrett

Electrician: Joseph Herridge-Nowell @sparky_joseph

Electrician: Christopher Howorth 

Electrician: Peter Musgrave 

Electrician: Tison Bailey 

Electrician: Antoine Mendy @twonspark

Production Designer: Tim Gibson 

Assistant Art Director: Lucy Fewell 

Prop Master: Nick Cosens 

Prop Buyer: Kristell Excell @kristellexcell

Props Assistant: Jake Fawcett 

Art Assistant: Louis Ruscombe-King 

Art Assistant: Nick Hancock 

Casting: Ali Fearnley @alifearnleycasting

Tea Specialist: Lucy Urwin 

Wardrobe Stylist: Emma Lipop @emmajaynelipop

Wardrobe Stylist: Tom Lipop @t.lipop

Wardrobe Assistant: Rhys Ellis 

HMU Stylist: Michele Baylis @michelebaylis_

HMU Assistant: Beth Leahy @bethleahymua

Medic: Lucie Barker-Smith

Catering: Marty Sykes 

Location Kit Driver: Maxim Corjeniuk 

Dining Bus Driver: Marcus Hooper 

Honey Wagon Driver: Billy Smith 

Wardrobe Split Driver: Tony Kent 

Security: C/O Rupert Bowkett