AHDB meat and dairy campaign returns with new TV advert

An industry campaign which highlights the benefits of meat and dairy in a balanced and sustainable diet is returning for a second season.

The AHDB’s “We Eat Balanced” campaign will hit national TV screens in the new year with a fresh advert.

The 2022 campaign will kick off on 4 January with the advert, which features an inquisitive little girl, called Nancy, along with her grandad.

See also: AHDB calls on levy payers to register now for spring vote

The new TV advert, which will be broadcast on Channel 4, ITV and Sky, as well as on-demand services, focuses on red meat and dairy as natural sources of vitamin B12, produced to world-class standards by UK farmers.

The TV advert will be supported by new social assets for Instagram and Facebook, which are a playful nod to Nancy’s questions.

© AHDB

Highest standards

The campaign seeks to reconnect consumers with their food and demonstrate that sourcing their meat and dairy from the UK means buying a product with a lower carbon footprint and produced to some of the highest production standards in the world.   

The campaign website has also had a revamp, and shoppers will see promotions in supermarket meat and dairy isles, aimed to reach 90% of adults over the month.

The levy board has also worked with farmers from across the UK to make them central to the social campaign, allowing them to tell their stories of how hard they work to make UK meat and dairy some of the most sustainable in the world. 

“Our farmers have a great story to tell, but have struggled in the past to get them in front of consumers, leading many to become detached from the food they eat, how it is produced and how that fits into protecting the environment,” said AHDB director of marketing Liam Byrne,

“This has led the way for more misinformation and false truths, exacerbated in recent times with the growth of social media. 

“Meat and dairy both contain vitamin B12, an essential nutrient not naturally present in foods of plant origin, so adding a little meat or dairy to your vegetables will boost the number of vitamins in your meal.”  

Young farmer support

Charlie Beaty, a young sheep farmer based in Warwickshire, also features in the new social campaign.

She said: “What the AHDB has been able to achieve with the campaign so far is fantastic, and has served as a much-needed boost for our industry. I really enjoyed working on this project and can’t wait to see where the campaign goes next.” 

Over the course of seven weeks in January and February, the We Eat Balanced campaign generated 80m impressions on social media, reaching 10 million consumers. It also reached six million people in print and two-and-a-half million through video on demand.