When we asked our social audience to smuggle Marmite to NYC for expats in need, we had an inkling these Marmite lovers would do whatever it took. Sure enough, "Bought lube and everything" was one of the thousands of WhatsApps and social comments we received after launch on Marmite's social channels. They flew hundreds of thousands of kilometers, risking it all, to help their fellow Marmite-less countrymen in NYC. If anything, the comment section showed that they were willing to smuggle it all over the world, not just the US.

Marmite is a divisive British salty savoury yeast spread, which is dark, sticky and strong smelling. For decades it has been known in the UK as the product you have to pick a side on, thanks to famous advertising campaigns using the line 'you either love it or hate it'. In recent years, Marmite campaigns have asked Marmite Lovers and Haters to participate in an increasingly bizarre and high-stakes experiments - including submitting themselves to gene testing, hypnosis and ultrasound scans for pregnant mums.

Every single day, 700,000 British expats live a miserable Marmite-less existence in the US.

It’s almost impossible to find and criminally overpriced.

Back in the UK, we really felt for our fellow countrymen in New York, because once a Marmite lover, always a lover. To get Marmite to these expats in need, we needed to take drastic measures. So, we tapped into a powerful force at our fingertips: a social network of British Lovers so dedicated to Marmite they would do literally anything for us. Or would they? We decided to find out by attempting to recruit a ring of Marmite Smugglers, to stash the yeast spread and take it on their flights from the UK to NYC.

In the UK, Marmite is outspent by peanut butter and chocolate spread brands, and stands alone as the only yeast spread. We couldn't compete with our competitors' budgets, but we could compete in another way. Marmite social followers are always willing to help the brand, especially when they can get their hands on a coveted limited edition jar. So we decided to test just how far Lovers were willing to go. In doing so, we could leverage that love to generate social conversation and PR around the brand, while spending a fraction of what our competitors do. It was a tried and tested approach to gaining a dispropriate share of the attention, previously seen in campaigns that subjected Lovers and Haters to gene testing, hypnosis and even pre-natal scans. The question was, how could we go even further this time?

We posted a simple recruitment message on Marmite's Instagram and Threads. 'Willing to smuggle Marmite?', driving to a WhatsApp number.

We used WhatsApp because millions around the world trust it to keep things on the down-low, and it meant there were no barriers to entry. After all, what dealer has a microsite with a form to fill in?

We exchanged WhatsApps with would-be smugglers to gather their details, and delivered a discreet package containing Marmite to their address.

Smugglers then shared footage of their smuggling experience back with us. These day-in-the-life of a smuggler social films were composed entirely of real footage captured from real drop offs and journeys by smugglers, and showed everyone we were for real, driving even more recruitment via WhatsApp.

1,325 Lovers willing to smuggle Marmite.

4,246 WhatsApp messages exchanged co-ordinating the smuggling operation.

26 Brits risked it all to ferry the goods across the US border.

2 smugglers offered to put jars inside themselves.

289,665 kilometers travelled by British lovers to smuggle Marmite.

33 separate pieces of PR coverage.

5.6 million earned reach in UK print and online publications.