Dancing chickens: Chicken Tonight says sorry

The Chicken Tonight simmer sauce brand is again taking to the airwaves, though this time it's to apologise for those daggy commercials of days gone by.

The latest television commercial takes an amusing look back at the 1990s, a time of discmans, scrunchies, acid wash jeans – and the Chicken Tonight chicken dance.

“A lot's changed since 1992. And so have we,” it says. “So we'll forgive you for the Macarena, and you forgive us... for that dance.”

The ad is part of a longer term strategy by UK convenience food manufacturer, Symington's, to reinvigorate sales of the classic simmer sauce.

The objective of the commercial is to re-engage consumers who remember Chicken Tonight as a '90s family meal staple, while introducing Chicken Tonight to a younger generation for whom there is less nostalgia associated with the brand and the decade.

“We have had considerable success ‘rebooting’ the iconic Chicken Tonight brand in the UK and achieved year on year double digit growth since relaunching the range in 2012, so we believe we have the right recipe for success in Australia,” said Symington’s Australia marketing manager Allen Hunt.

“Our message to busy modern Australian families is simple; we recognise that you’ve moved on since the nineties and so has Chicken Tonight, with a new-look range that includes new flavours proudly made in Australia.”

In May last year, Symington's took up the Australian and New Zealand licence on Unilever's wet sauces portfolio which spanned the Chicken Tonight, Raguletto and Five Brothers brands.

A few weeks ago, Symington's launched three new sauces were launched under the Chicken Tonight brand and the labelling was refreshed across the entire range.