One of the UK’s most popular frozen food brands, Birds Eye, has pledged to counter junk food marketing by spending £4.8 million on TV and advertising to promote their vegetable range.
The spend nearly doubles their marketing budget for veg and will air the ads on children’s TV programming, as well as social media sites such as Buzzfeed, Facebook and Instagram.
Crisp, confectionary and sugary drinks brands put over£143 milliona year into advertising their products whilst only 1.2 per cent of all food and soft drink advertising goes on veg, according to Birds Eye.
Their pledge forms part of their commitment to the Peas Please initiative, which saw 40 organisations and government departments sign up to help increase the nation’s veg consumption in 2016.
Pete Johnson, general marketing manager at Birds Eye, said: “Making these pledges to the Peas Please campaign comes with a new financial commitment for 2018, but it is not a major change in strategy for the Birds Eye brand - peas are very close to our heart.
“When Clarence Birdseye first found a way to flash-freeze veg and fish to preserve freshness and nutrients, millions of families were given access to better meals. Strong, emotional advertising on TV and online video is our 21st century effort to make sure veg finds its way onto more dinner plates.”
According to Birds Eye, advertising during children’s TV is particularly important, as 80 per cent of children and 95.5 per cent of teenagers don’t eat enough veg while the lack of vegetables in our diet contributes to tens of thousands of premature deaths every year.
The frozen food provider said it will also increase its vegetable product range, adding nine new products to its vegetable range over the next 12 months including pulse and veg mixes.
