Marmite Is Giving Womb Scans To Predict If Babies Will Love Or Hate Its Spread
By Mikelle Leow, 20 Apr 2023
It’s no secret that some people are biologically wired to hate cilantro. But what if your addiction or abhorrence to other foods, like Marmite, were predestined too?
In a rather absurd campaign by communications firm adam&eveDDB, the yeast spread brand is digging deep into early childhoods—or rather, the months leading to birth—to further its investigation on why its product is so controversial. Marmite is providing 4D ultrasound scans to predict if babies will grow up to love or hate the product.
The initiative comes in line with a previous study of 100 pregnant women whose babies were shown, via womb scans, to react positively, and negatively, to certain foods even before they were born. In the research, the fetuses of to-be mothers who ate kale mostly appeared to be “crying,” while babies of women who were made to eat carrots “laughed.”
Similarly, in a promotional video, some babies pulled happy faces when their moms had Marmite, but others looked to be disgusted within their amniotic fluid.
The pre-birth responses amplify the brand’s long-standing message of: “You either love it or hate it.”
Expecting parents who can’t wait to find out if their kids will fall in love or hate with Marmite can take part in one of these scans themselves. The brand has teamed up with Window to the Womb clinics in the UK to conduct free, professional 4D ultrasound examinations to mothers-to-be on April 21.
Moms in Manchester and Bristol will be given samples of Marmite 20 minutes before their screenings, and later find out if their babies will potentially light up or grimace at the sight of the spread at the table when they’re older.
For Marmite-obsessed grownups whose babies don’t seem to take to the product, don’t be too worried yet—there’s a possibility your little one will grow to love it eventually. If it’s of any consolation, participants will also receive themed baby merchandise, like bibs and onesies that read ‘Marmite Lover’ and ‘Marmite Hater’, after the scans.
“We’re obsessed with understanding the reasons why people love or hate our famous spread. While this study could reveal whether you’re born a lover or a hater, other studies support that taste buds change with age,” encourages Shannon Lennon-Smith, Marketing Manager at Marmite.
“So, while you might be born a hater, there’s still hope you could become a lover!”
[via Marmite and adam&eveDDB, images courtesy]