Digital
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Global Ads Spotlight: When science meets silliness and the curious case of the Anti-Murphy's Law Toast
A physicist, a Michelin-starred baker, and a probiotic brand team up to prove that with enough science (and butter), toast can land the right way.
As Robert Matthews experiences disappointment with 100 toasts, it is here, the campaign takes an interesting route where mathematics, physics and culinary skills come together to prove the anti-Murphy’s law. (Stills from the campaign)
Let’s take a moment to recall life’s more humbling spectacles - spilled coffee on a white shirt, tech failures just before big presentations, and, of course, toast taking a nosedive, butter-side down. It’s as if the universe has a personal vendetta. Enter: Murphy’s Law, that dour little dictum that insists “anything that can go wrong, will.”
Now, pivot briefly to your kitchen floor, where a dropped cookie stares back at you in silent judgment. The five-second rule - our flimsy culinary superstition - claims that food is safe from bacterial ambushes if rescued promptly. But does science agree? And more importantly, does toast have to fall butter-side down?
Enterogermina, a probiotic brand with a flair for drama and a disdain for Murphy, decided to find out. Enlisting Robert Matthews, physicist, occasional myth-buster, and recipient of the 1996 Ig Nobel Prize for his work on, yes, Murphy’s Law and the gravitational cruelty of toast, they launched the The Anti-Murphy's Law Toast campaign.
This wasn’t your average brand stunt. It came complete with a 10-minute documentary, a 12-Michelin-star baker (Nuno Garcia), and enough physics to make Newton blink twice. The mission? To craft a slice of toast that would refuse to follow fate’s buttery blueprint.
Matthews begins with 100 failed toast drops, each one a somber confirmation of the law he once famously proved. But where pessimism could have prevailed, he chose instead to roll up his sleeves and, with a dream team of scientists and bakers, turn probability into pliability.
Tables were resized, toast dimensions adjusted, and aerodynamics debated. Equations flew, flour dust settled, and through a methodical blend of culinary design and scientific mischief, they achieved the improbable: a toast engineered to land butter-side up.
But this wasn’t just about rebelling against the laws of breakfast. The campaign also toyed with the infamous five-second rule, polling public opinion on just how long is “too long” when rescuing rogue snacks from the floor. (Spoiler: bacteria don’t carry stopwatches.)
In the end, the “Anti-Murphy’s Law” campaign serves more than a side of toasted triumph - it’s a reminder that while life may lean toward chaos, a little curiosity, collaboration, and crusty ingenuity can flip the script. Sometimes, with the right team and just the right angle, the toast does land your way.
WATCH
Created by the agency MRM Spain, the Anti-Murphy's Law Toast campaign includes a documentary that takes viewers behind the scenes of this unique project. The film explores the scientific research that inspired the idea and features insights from microbiology expert Simon Baines, who discusses the truth behind the five-second rule.
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