Beale's best in show: Marmite (DDB London)

If you're a Facebooker, you'll know the social networking site has a group for lovers of the distinctive spread. It's just one example of how the brand continues to embrace its love/hate positioning: an advertising conceit that has become a key ingredient in the Marmite formula.

It's not often you find brands that admit they might make you feel sick, which is perhaps why Marmite's frankness has been so successful. It's certainly spawned a fine advertising heritage that continues to stretch its ad agency, DDB, to ever greater heights. Remember the wonderful Paddington Bear TV ads from last year?

This time DDB has applied the theme to a range of print ads for some new Marmite snacks. The snacks represent four new ways to love or hate the brand and each has been given a loving illustration that beautifully demonstrates the love/hate tension.

Each ad uses bold, simple images which are actually cunningly clever. Look at them one way and they illustrate love of the brand. Skew them sideways or upside down and love turns to hate. So we see a hand putting a Marmite rice cake into an eagerly open mouth. But flip the page and it becomes a hand flushing the cake down the toilet pan.

You might hate Marmite, but you've got to love the ads.

The Marmite on Facebook Community can be found by clicking here