News from the gardening world
National TV campaign to promote merits of eating vegetables
The health benefits of eating fresh vegetables is to be aired via a national TV advertising campaign. The move aims to address the decline in the number of people who consume vegetables as a routine part of their diet, especially children.
Independent think-tank the Food Foundation, set up to tackle the huge rise in dietrelated illness, has teamed up with ITV to air the campaign as part of its Veg Power initiative, which hopes to reach more than two thirds of households with children, to encourage a real behaviour change and get everyone inspired to change their attitudes to veg. The new advert, which will air in January, will span across all its channels, including primetime entertainment and current affairs shows and is costing around £2m. The move forms part of ITV’s diet-motivated Feel Good strategy, which launched in June. Production is being funded by a unique alliance of the UK’s major retailers, including Iceland, Lidl, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s, with money donated via the Veg Power Fund.
The campaign is supported by TV cook and environmental lobbyist Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. “The world of veg is full of vibrant colours and exciting and diverse tastes and textures, and we want everyone, especially children, to love them more and eat them more,” said Hugh. “If they do, it will make a huge difference to the health of the nation, and the lives of our kids.”