ADWATCH: Taipan's blast from the past scores with hungry viewers

Mooncake manufacturers dominated the TV recall chart for September, when the cakes are devoured in Hong Kong as part of the mid-autumn celebrations.

Topping the recall chart was Taipan Snowy Mooncake, which ran with the same commercial as it did last year.

Produced by an in-house marketing team and a local production house, Taipan's score of 95 for its white mooncakes beat three other heavy-spending rivals, including Maxim's and Saint Honore.

Taipan general manager Johnny Tang explained that the marketing team had approached a number of 4As agencies to handle the mooncake campaign, but had to rethink their plans when none of the agencies came up with a concept that satisfied them.

Tang said the " two-years-in-a-row" concept fitted the company's effort to maintain the offensive on its snowy mooncakes. "First of all, our snowy mooncakes are perceived as 'cool' and 'modern'. That's what we want to focus on, so the same ad was selected this year to reinforce this concept.

Secondly, the good response and feedback from the public to the product, gathered by our research company, convinced us that it would be the right move to use the same TVC again," he said.

In topping the chart, the Taipan TVC improved on its debut performance last year when it managed second place.

The Taipan TVC also stood out from spots for rival mooncake retailers, showing far fewer product shots and focusing more on an intriguing storyline.

Taipan's competitors include Maxim's, Saint Honore Cake Shop, and Kee Wah Bakery, whose commercials placed third, fourth, and eighth respectively.