HOIST THE MAIN SAIL...THE CAPTAIN'S BACK!

HOIST THE MAIN SAIL...THE CAPTAIN'S BACK! Jolly old Captain Birds Eye's in TV comeback Never mind Bet Gilroy's return to The Street, nostalgic TV viewers should keep their eyes to the horizon over the next few days as the nation's favourite sea-farer, Captain Birds Eye, makes the TV comeback of the year on July 1st. After a five-year absence from our TV screens, a traditional grey bearded Captain Birds Eye returns with a new home - he's moored his ship and now looks after his young shipmates on his very own Paradise Island where good food and fun come together. The old Captain, who has been the nation's fish finger hero since 1967, is back with a promise to help make the nation's kids healthier. In a topical move aimed at addressing mums' concerns about children's poor diets, frozen food market leader Birds Eye is reformulating existing recipes for its children's range to meet even stricter nutritional guidelines and has appointed Captain Birds Eye to look after this range. Developed with leading kids' nutritionists, every Captain product is not just tasty, it's wholesome, hearty food too. It's packed with goodness because Birds Eye uses only the best quality ingredients and never use artificial colours, flavours or preservatives - this is the Captain's Promise that will appear on each of his packs as a guarantee of yummy, nutritious food for kids. All Captain Birds Eye products will also be formulated to meet strict nutritional guidelines on total fat, saturated fat and salt. Birds Eye's Marketing Director, Chris Pomfret explains: "We know that the older Captain's appeal stretches beyond kids and have been inundated with appeals to bring him back since he departed from our TVs some years back. Mums know and trust the original grey bearded Captain Birds Eye and kids love him, so who better to tell the nation about this new range of kids' food? MORE "We've scoured the seas for a new 'older' Captain because he signals goodness and natural, hearty food made with the best quality ingredients. Quite simply, Captain Birds Eye represents the gold standard in kids' food, so whenever mums see Captain Birds Eye on a pack they will know that they are buying the best quality, most wholesome food that their kids will love." The new ad is part of a £7.7 million marketing campaign that spans press, cinema, PR and in-store activation during 2002. It can be seen for the first time on Monday 1st July. ENDS Notes to editors * The kids frozen food market is currently worth £394 million and growing year on year For further information, please contact: Julia Crawford 020 7344 1342 Katie Pratt 020 7344 1262 ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2002/06/25/20020625BIT00560/wkr0001.doc http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2002/06/25/20020625BIT00560/wkr0002.pdf