New England Seafood has launched a campaign to promote wild Alaskan salmon in place of farmed fish in the UK.
Sealaska-owned processor New England Seafood International has launched a major marketing initiative to promote its LEAP wild salmon brand.
The campaign which stars iconic 1990s toy Big Mouth Billy Bass marks the television advertising debut for the Grimsby-based company, airing on SKY channels from October to January.
This TV campaign is complemented by an animatronic display outside London’s Waterloo station, one of the UK’s busiest transportation hubs.
The star of the show is Gemmy Industries’s Big Mouth Billy Bass who features in the new TV ad, imploring consumers to consider wild salmon in place of farmed:
“Are you sure that’s good fish what you’re putting on that dish? It may look good for the picture but that taste might need a lift, It was raised on the farm, more like an aquatic arm, It’s like living with your parents and your in-laws all your life, Easy lunch, fancy brunch even every late night munch, thinking you’ve been eating tasty all along, You need to take the LEAP, and meet the wildest fish you’ll ever eat ever eat,” sings the fish.
The campaign comes at a time when retail sales for fresh seafood have been weak, a reflection of the impact rising prices are having on consumer spending, according to NielsenIQ ScanTrack data provided by UK seafood trade association Seafish.
Rising farmed salmon prices over the last year have led to a softening of consumer demand in many parts of Europe and North America.
“After two years in the making, so incredibly proud to see this campaign go live. Well done to all involved. 👏 Now let’s see those sales of wild fish soar!💥,” wrote NESI Head of Marketing Lisa Cowell on LinkedIn.
LEAP was first launched in 2017 in UK retailers Planet Organic and Whole Foods. NESI’s range is now available in four of the UK’s largest retailers — Waitrose, Asda, Tesco and Sainsburys — equating to more than 60 percent of UK grocery space by market share.
Big Mouth Billy Bass was invented by American toymaker Gemmy Industries in 1998 and popular in the early 2000s. It was reported that Elizabeth II had a Big Mouth Billy Bass displayed on the grand piano of Balmoral Castle.
