Potatoes: Britain's buried treasure

David Simoes-Brown

First campaign for the Potato Marketing Board, 1992-5. Background describes a marked decline in consumption of potatoes up to 1992: suffering negative consumer attitudes and under attack especially by pasta and rice; research from various sources (including MRE) quoted to illustrate this decline in potatoes and the reasons for it.
Agency: Butterfield Day Devito HockneyAuthor: David Simoes-Brown

Potatoes: Britain's buried treasure

SUMMARY

This paper traces the fortunes of the potato market since the launch of the Potato Marketing Board's first ever advertising campaign in February 1992 through to December 1995.

It shows how advertising helped to improve consumer attitudes concerning potatoes and how a marked decline in consumption prior to 1992 was reversed - at least in part - through the contribution of advertising. This took place in a particularly difficult environment of fierce competition from more fashionable and convenient alternatives to potatoes.

BACKGROUND...

WARC subscribers can sign in to keep reading

Not a subscriber?

Schedule your live demo with our team today

WARC helps you to plan, create and deliver more effective marketing

  • Prove your case and back-up your idea

  • Get expert guidance on strategic challenges

  • Tackle current and emerging marketing themes

We’re long-term subscribers to WARC and it’s a tool we use extensively. We use it to source case studies and best practice for the purposes of internal training, as well as for putting persuasive cases to clients. In compiling a recent case for long-term, sustained investment in brand, we were able to support key marketing principles with numerous case studies sourced from WARC. It helped bring what could have been a relatively dry deck to life with recognisable brand successes from across a broad number of categories. It’s incredibly efficient to have such a wealth of insight in one place.

Insights Team
Bray Leino

You’re in good company

We work with 80% of Forbes' most valuable brands* and 80% of the world's top top-of-the-class agencies.

* Top 10 brands