The ‘Eat Them to Defeat Them’ campaign takes the unique approach of agreeing with children that vegetables are evil and taking over the world. The only way to beat them is to eat them.
One in three primary school children are considered to be either overweight or obese. This comes with a new report from the Food Foundation showing that 29% of children aged between five and ten eat less than a portion of their ‘five-a-day’.
The ‘Prepare for Battle’ TV advert launched on Saturday 29 May and the campaign is predicted to reach 5.2 million households with children.
Baroness Rosie Boycott, chair of Veg Power Board, said: “We are delighted that Eat Them To Defeat Them has returned for its third year and is set to reach even more children across the UK.
“As our mission is to get the UK eating more veg, engaging with children on this topic is crucial as not only will it improve their health but encourage life-long eating habits.”
Since the campaign debuted in January 2019, it has led to sales of over 517 million additional children’s portions of vegetables worth £63m. This year the campaign is rolling out into 1,900 primary schools with vegetable tasting sessions, posters, teaching aids and games.
Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall, writer and chef, added: “It’s time to defeat those dastardly veg – and eat them again!! It’s been great to be part of the Veg Power team and watch this funny, irreverent and counter-intuitive ad come together, following the success of the first Eat Them to Defeat Them campaign.
“We know kids are enjoying these spots, and relating to them, and even more importantly, we know many of the kids who are seeing these ads are indeed eating more veg. Long may it continue.”
Research conducted by YouGov, commissioned by ITV and Veg Power for the campaign found that 35% of parents were worried about their children’s diets during the pandemic.