In British English, the name Marmite occurs in similative or allusive use, with reference to someone or something that polarises opinions by provoking either strongly positive or strongly negative reactions, rather than indifference.

The name Marmite occurs, for example, in the following, said by the Spanish ballet dancer Tamara Rojo (born 1974) of the German dancer and choreographer Pina Bausch (1940-2009), published in the London Evening Standard (London, England) of Wednesday 6^th June 2012 [page 45, column 4]:

“Pina is theatrical marmite; you either love her or you hate her.”

Here, Marmite is a proprietary name for a savoury paste made from yeast and vegetable extract. This product was originally advertised for use in enriching soups and stews; its packaging has borne the device of a cooking pot since manufacture began in 1902.

 

The perception of Marmite as having a distinctive flavour which divides opinions was acknowledged by an advertising campaign for the product, launched in October 1996, with the slogan “You either love it or hate it”. The following, from Marmite (1996)—You Either Love It Or Hate It, published at an unspecified date in Creative Review, explains the creation of this advertising slogan:

The brand that has used honesty about its product to greatest effect has to be Marmite. ‘You Either Love It Or Hate It’ is both a brand slogan and a truism so powerful that the words ‘like Marmite’ are now regularly used to describe anything divisive.
The tagline was the brainchild of Richard Flintham and Andy McLeod, and was created in 1996 when they were a young creative team at BMP DDB (now DDB London). It grew out of the simple recognition that while Flintham loved the spread, McLeod hated it. […]
[…]
[…] It wasn’t an easy notion to take to the client. But Marmite recognised the strength of the idea and has since fully embraced its possibilities. The initial campaign launched with two ads, one about people loving the product, the other about people hating it.

This advertising campaign for Marmite was mentioned as follows in the Evening Standard (London, England) of Thursday 24^th October 1996 [page 3, column 3]:

My mate Marmite, or I hate Marmite
by FLORA HUNTER

THE MAKERS of Marmite have finally admitted what we always suspected—that the yeasty spread is one of those things you either love or hate.
Like funfair rides and Manchester United, there is no half-way house … and once you’ve made your mind up, you’ll never change.
Tomorrow sees the start of a new advertising campaign which highlights the public’s love-hate relationship with the famous yeast extract.
One shows a Marmite fan lovingly polishing the distinctive jar, while another shows a man pushing pins into a Marmite shaped voodoo-doll.

The earliest similative and allusive uses of the name Marmite that I have found are as follows, in chronological order:
—Note: These early occurrences indicate that, contrary to what is claimed in the above-quoted article published in Creative Review, it was not because of the 1996 advertising slogan “You either love it or hate it”, but years before that slogan was created, that the name Marmite came to be “regularly used to describe anything divisive”:

1-: From One for the children, published in the Bracknell Times (Bracknell, Berkshire, England) of Thursday 27^th December 1973 [Vol. 70, No. 3,684, page 9, column 6]:

LIKE the sound of bagpipes, the humour of Jerry Lewis, or the taste of Marmite, feature films involving animals rather than humans are things you either love or loathe. Most children, however, probably like all of these things.

2-: From the Herald Express (Torquay, Devon, England) of Saturday 31^st October 1987 [page 9, column 5]:

G & S society faces crippling cash crisis

LOVERS of Gilbert and Sullivan are being asked to lend their support to a Torbay society faced with pulling itself up from the biggest loss-maker in its history.
[…]
Spokesman Helen Welsh […] said she felt that there was still a considerable interest in the works of Gilbert and Sullivan. “It is very popular with a certain section of the community—its [sic] a bit like Marmite, you either love it or hate it,” she said.

3-: From the Evening Mail (Birmingham, West Midlands, England) of Monday 19^th September 1994 [page 17, column 4]:

WHO’S YIS LOOKING AT?
Rab C Nesbitt
(BBC2, 9pm)

LOVE him or loathe him the “Marmite man” of comedy is back.
Gregor Fisher’s show is still very much an acquired taste, even though it’s now returning incredibly for a fourth series.
But for those who do like it, there’s nothing better—though chauvinists had better be warned that the women are now going to have a more developed role.

4-: From The Guardian (London and Manchester, England) of Friday 7^th April 1995 [The Guardian Friday: page 14, column 1]:

A new series on C4 explores the Wagner phenomenon
A ring of mania

Wagnermania—the title itself says it all. Not many composers could carry a whole season of television programmes in which only one was specifically devoted to a performance, but even fewer could be described in such obsessive terms. Ken Russell had his Lisztomania, but Mahlermania, or Straussmania? Not really. Yet the Wagner cult invites that kind of extreme reaction, positive or negative; as someone observes in one of Channel 4’s documentaries, “Wagner is like Marmite, you either love it or you hate it.”

5-: From Following the path to fame, by Clare Wigmore, published in the Reading Evening Post (Reading, Berkshire, England) of Friday 21^st November 1997 [page 26, column 2]:

JUST like the yeasty spread Marmite, it seems you either love or hate The Spice Girls.

6-: From a restaurant review, by Mary Munford, published in The Birmingham Post (Birmingham, West Midlands, England) of Wednesday 4^th February 1998 [No. 43,116; Post Style: page 13, column 4]:

Like Marmite, tofu seems to be one of those foods that you either love or hate and though my partner bravely did his best, he definitely fell into the anti camp. I was keener and enjoyed its peculiar quality of having no texture and no taste other than what it has been cooked in.

7-: From the column The Guide, by Steve Allen, of the Virgin Megastore, published in the Evening Telegraph (Derby, Derbyshire, England) of Friday 21^st August 1998 [No. 36,426; The Week Out: page 10, column 4]:

There are certain things in life that people either seem to love or hate with no sort of in-between compromise.
Marmite is one of those things. Another seems to be American comedy Friends. Opinions seem to state that it’s either the wittiest, sharpest feel-good comedy on the box or a pile of gooey American sentimental trash! I’m yet to find someone who thinks it’s “kind of alright … I can take it or leave it”. […]
Those of you who fall into the hate-Friends category will be pleased to learn that Marmite is probably on special offer at the local supermarket.

8-: From Still refusing to pander to the public, by Jenny Amphlett, published in The Stafford Post (Stafford, Staffordshire, England) of Thursday 5^th November 1998 [No. 752, page 21, column 2]:

Like Marmite, people either love Jo Brand or they hate her.

9-: From a review of Malibu (December 1998), a song by the U.S. alternative-rock band Hole—review by Paul Newman, published in the Harlow Star (Harlow, Essex, England) of Thursday 21^st January 1999 [No. 969, page 27, column 3]:

MALIBU—Hole (single, Geffen). Like Marmite, Hole are very much an acquired taste which leaves enthusiasts awestruck and others rather chilly.

10-: From A drawn out episode, by Tim Knight, published in the Sevenoaks Focus (Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England) of Tuesday 6^th April 1999 [page 7, column 1]:

FOR many years the colourful cartoon Rugrats has remained a Saturday morning staple for small children and hung-over students […].
[…]
Like Marmite, you either love or hate Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil and Angelica.

11-: From the column Stevie B’s Top Tips On Fruit & Veg, published in the Reading Evening Post (Reading, Berkshire, England) of Tuesday 29^th June 1999 [page 68, column 1]:

For a vegetable that’s like Marmite or marriage you love it or you hate it—new season marrows are flooding the market and grown in England.

12-: From a review of An Evening With Pam Ayres, produced at the Theatre Royal, Bath—review by Jeremy Smith, published in the Evening Post (Bristol, England) of Monday 11^th October 1999 [No. 20,537, page 16, column 6]:

PAM Ayres is like Marmite—you either love her or hate her.
Luckily, I love her, though I don’t know why.

13-: From a music review by Heather Slater, published in the Burntwood Mercury (Burntwood, Staffordshire, England) of Thursday 14^th October 1999 [Vol. 134, No. 11,143, page 34, column 1]:

Music is like Marmite

NEW Merz single Lovely Daughter has already caused a stir on Radio One, after DJ Jo Whiley declared it ‘Single of the Week’.
[…]
Although more accessible than its predecessor, Many Weathers Apart, those weird vocals don’t half grate on you after a while. Merz is Marmite—you love it or hate it.

14-: From the Wembley Observer (London, England) of Thursday 4^th November 1999 [page 109, column 4]:

THEY’RE like Marmite—you either hate them or love them. But whatever you think of saccharine pop group Steps, there’s no denying they’re on the way to becoming one of the UK’s biggest musical exports.

—Cf. also the Australian-English phrase happy little Vegemite, designating a contented person. (Vegemite is a type of savoury spread made from yeast and vegetable extract.)