Captain Birdseye Returns ..

CAPTAIN BIRDS EYE RETURNS AFTER YEARS AT SEA As part of a move that sees Birds Eye improving and relaunching its entire range of kids' foods, Captain Birds Eye returns to the nation's screens next week in a television ad that kicks off a completely integrated £7.7 million marketing campaign. The new advertisements bring Captain Birds Eye back in the original form, complete with grey beard, twinkling eyes and a host of shipmates. The Captain will achieve high awareness this summer as Birds Eye backs his return with heavyweight activity including TV, cinema, press, public relations, in-store activation and new packaging designs. The rationale behind the return of a more traditional Captain Birds Eye is clear, says Birds Eye marketing director, Chris Pomfret: "The Captain is back with the first ever totally wholesome and nutritious range of kids' frozen foods. "When you're talking to mums about something as important as their children's diets, you need the messages of quality and nutrition delivered by someone they totally trust and respect - it was obvious that the traditional Captain Birds Eye was the only man for the job - and he's back with a promise to all mums." As before, Captain Birds Eye symbolises fun and the gold standard in quality, but now strict nutritional guidelines have been introduced and his products reformulated to meet these. The Captain promises on every pack that his range does not use artificial colours, flavours or preservatives. In addition, every product in the range will be formulated to meet strict guidelines on total fat, saturated fat and salt. Captain Birds Eye will become the ambassador for the frozen food market leader's entire kids' range and ensure that all of Birds Eye's kids' meet his new strict guidelines. MORE "The kids' frozen market is currently worth £396 million and is growing year on year," continues Pomfret. "Bringing the Captain back with the promise of a range of nutritious kids' food solutions is an important strategic step for Birds Eye. The Captain's return heralds the introduction of a range that stretches beyond fish fingers. From July it will include a number of other fish products, and we'll be announcing several new products in the range between now and September." The new Captain Birds Eye advertising campaign comprises three thirty second executions, set on his new home territory - the Captain's Paradise Island where good food and fun come together. These will be brought to life through creative executions in press and cinema, as well as in-store by eye-catching, life-sized standees depicting the Captain with his happy, active shipmates, heralding the food as their treasure. Captain Birds Eye's packaging has also been transformed and now highlights key product information in a speech bubble format that's easy for mums to read and understand - actually asking the question: 'What's in my fish fingers?' and aiming to dispel the myth that frozen food means unnecessary additives. "We know that mums don't want to see complex nutritional boxes or tick lists," explains Pomfret. "Our speech bubbles show just how few ingredients go into each of Captain Birds Eye's products. They communicate the products' nutritional benefits clearly to mums and reassure them on the quality and nutritional benefit of the Captain's range." Viewers will be able to see Captain Birds Eye back on air for the first time on Monday 1st July. ENDS Notes to editors q Downloadable photography and stills from the ads available from www.captainsisland.co.uk q Creative agency - advertising: HHCL & Partners q In-store activation agency: Billington Cartmell q Packaging design agency: Springpoint For further information, please contact Edelman Public Relations: Melanie Burr 020 7344 1551 Julia Crawford 020 7344 1342 Or email: thecaptain@captainsisland.co.uk ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2002/06/25/20020625BIT00450/wkr0001.doc http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2002/06/25/20020625BIT00450/wkr0002.pdf