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Advertising Birds Eye

Birds Eye casts a younger silver fox in the role of Captain as brand repositions

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By Katie Deighton, Senior Reporter

January 8, 2018 | 3 min read

Captain Birds Eye, the frozen food brand’s ubiquitous jolly mascot, has been replaced by a younger, more rugged model as part of a £8m repositioning campaign.

captain birds eye

Captain Birds Eye

The fresh-faced seafarer (aka Riccardo Acerbi, an Italian model), sports a salt-and-pepper beard, a penchant for navy clothing and a relaxed demeanour. The look is contrast to the previous Captain, who with a fluffy white beard and full navy regalia was less of a hunk and more of a cartoon.

The transformation is representative of Birds Eye’s new positioning, which aims to market the brand as one that is all about simple yet authentic fish products. The TV ad featuring the new mascot has been shot by Grey London with blue colouring, a relaxed voiceover and wide shots of the ocean.

The Captain is seen staring out into the distance, plunging gracefully into the sea and enjoying fish fingers with his well-behaved grandchildren.

The film will lead Birds Eye’s ‘Real Food, Simply Made’ campaign, which will rack up a media spend of £8m across TV, online video and social platforms. The brand will update its packaging to “clearly highlight that our fish is real food, simply made” from April 2018, according to Steve Challouma, marketing director at Birds Eye.

captain birds eye

“The new campaign is an exciting change in direction for the brand, and aims to reinforce us as a trusted, credible brand providing quality food,” he added. “Our Captain has always been a trusted brand icon, with a passion for fun and maritime adventure.

"The change in this new campaign aims to make him more relevant to consumers, focused on the simplicity and authenticity of food, whilst retaining his trademark adventurous spirit.”

Birds Eye: advert-body-1 by Grey London

By Birds Eye

Overall Rating 5/5

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