Marmite man

Delacroix, the French Romantic painter stands as an icon in history, and for me on a  personal level, he’s a giant in the world of colour.

From his debut in Paris in 1822, right up to his death in 1863, his work sharply divided opinion. His emotionally charged subjects, and his individual approach to applying colour truly challenged and rocked the dominant tastes of the art establishment of his day. His work offended some, and earned the admiration of others. He was what I would call a true Marmite-man. Unafraid, unwilling to change his flavour to suit the dominant, fashionable tastes of the day.

The pull to conform is all pervasive. Like the Matrix it’s all around us. Laced in the air we breathe, the images we take in, the culture in which we live. Our social culture of ‘likes’ is poison to the artist, because to carve a new path we have to be free to be disliked, unliked, perhaps even hated, and frankly… to be ok with that. To live with a benevolent detachment from the opinion of others is true freedom.

Marmite is my favourite brand on the planet. They are so sure of themselves, so steady and immovable in the face of criticism. Their strong, punchy flavour continually divides opinion, and love them or hate them, they won't change their flavour for you, for me, or for anyone else.

In a world where we want to be wanted, we long to be liked, Marmite never sugar-coat who they are to gain followers. There's no Diet-Marmite, no Caffeine-Free Marmite, no Cherry-Marmite and no Marmite-Zero. It's just Marmite. They won't bend their flavour or be swayed by the demands of the zeitgeist, they never second guess their own unique taste. They don't dilute themselves to suit the palette or opinions of the marketplace.

"Marmite, love us, hate us, this is what we taste like".

That kind of self-assured confidence is what it takes to pioneer something new.
It’s not even arrogant, it's just self aware.

Invented by Justus von Liebig, a scientist and contemporary of Delacroix, and launched after his death in 1902 by Unilever, Marmite is arguably the world's first punk brand.

Who thought they’d ever read Marmite & Delacroix in the same sentence?

Mark Evans
May 2016
London