It is a food-advertising copywriter’s dream in the battle between the carbohydrate and crunchy lettuce lobbies. So here are a few lines to kick-start a planned Local Authority Caterers Association TV campaign this autumn: “Kids need carbs!”, “Put a rocket in your pocket”, “Full fat and fancy free” (see page 1).
But promotions cost. Just how many cartons of semi-skimmed milk can one buy for the price of a national TV campaign? The association blames Jamie Oliver for a 12.5 per cent drop in school meals uptake since his healthy eating drive in March 2005. Such simplistic correlations are always suspect. Also, the effects of TV advertising are short-term, as caterers found with the “School dinners, Cool dinners” campaign of 1992. Instead, Jamie and the caterers’ association should work together. Their catchphrase could be: “Bin the worst, Put fine food first”.