8 April, Edinburgh: IRN-BRU Ice Cream is back – and this time it’s permanent. As the brand continues its 125th anniversary celebrations, and with Leith retained as its social agency, the nation’s favourite soft drink marks the moment with a new campaign starring a man who looks like he could bench-press a ferry but prefers a long soak in the bath with candles.
Meet Mr Softie: an ice‑cream man with tattoos, attitude and a skincare routine that could bring a tear to a unicorn. He’s “hard as girders on the outside, but with a sweet soft side on the inside,” and he’s here to introduce the world to IRN‑BRU Ice Cream, the flavour that smashes together IRN-BRU’s famous steel with the soft, nostalgic joy of ice cream.
The two films introduce Mr Softie, first pulling up in his ice-cream van to interrogate a man on a bench about the yoga mat he’s holding. Despite his fearsome appearance, he extols the virtues of candle-lit baths and “sniffing a newborn baby’s heed”. Mr Softie then produces a can of Scotland’s canned nectar, explaining that the two of them are very alike, made from girders but with a sweet, soft side. The campaign is supported by media planning from the7stars.
The second film sees a gang of cheeky kids banging on the ice cream van, demanding to know where ‘Soft stuff’ is. Revving the engine and shifting into top gear, Mr Softie deals with vandals, joins his crew for some hip-hop posing, and gets an ice cream tattoo. As the child meekly replies, “Thank you, sir,” the shutter slams shut, and the hero line ‘Ice cream Just Grew a Pair of Girders’ appears on screen.
The campaign builds on IRN‑BRU’s Made in Scotland from Girders platform, which celebrates the inner strength, resilience and maverick bravery that define the brand. IRN‑BRU Ice Cream takes the platform somewhere new, blending BRU’s trademark steel with the soft, nostalgic joy of ice cream. It’s emotional strength with sprinkles and a flake.
Running across social and out‑of‑håome in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Greater London, Greater Manchester, Yorkshire and the West Midlands, the campaign introduces Mr Softie in all his contradictory glory, from his low‑rider ice‑cream van to his gold “GIRDERS” grillz to the way he shouts at pensioners for starting Tai Chi without him.
Kenny Nicholson, Brand Director at AG Barr, said: “IRN‑BRU Ice Cream has always had a loyal following, and our strongest limited edition sales, so bringing it back permanently was the right thing to do. This campaign captures the balance of strength and softness that defines the flavour – blending IRN-BRU’s bold, made-in-Scotland attitude with a smoother vanilla note. Mr Softie brings that to life brilliantly – even if he does moisturise more than the rest of us.”Simon Burford, Group Account Director at Leith, said: “IRN‑BRU thrives on subverting norms. IRN‑BRU Ice Cream let us push that even further. Mr Softie is tough, tender and unmistakably BRU, the perfect ambassador for a flavour that’s made of girders but soft and sweet at the same time.”
