A leading representative group for the produce industry has taken an interesting angle in its campaign to encourage people to eat more fresh fruit and vegetables.
PMA Australia and New Zealand (PMA A-NZ) has launched its new slogan, “Say no to crap,” as part of its wider campaign “It’s Time- Get Real.”
The campaign also promotes fresh produce as “real value, real easy, real fast.”
At the PMA Fresh Connections 2012 in Melbourne, delegates were shown parts of the initiative, which will include posters, slogans and feature local community members who have improved their health by eating fresh produce.
The association is looking for ways to use shock value to educate people about the importance of eating fresh produce, and another suggested media stunt included dumping a load of sugar in the main street of a regional town, in a bid to demonstrate the 22 tonnes of sugar consumed by a population of 100,000 in processed food everyday.
Chief executive of PMA A-NZ, Michael Worthington explained that on average, Australians spend only $10 a week on fresh produce, as compared to the much higher amount spent on unhealthier foods, and organisation wanted to go with something that was simple yet provocative to get its message across.
“Consumers know that eating fruit and veg is good for them.
"They don’t have to be told that, we don’t have to keep pushing that down their throats,” he said.
“They all know that they should be eating more fruits and vegetables.
“We know that they don’t like to be preached to, they don’t like to be lectured to, so whatever you do, you’ve got to instil self ownership, self responsibility about this.”
Worthington explained that the media saturation about the apparent benefits of certain foods – “superfoods,” for example – has confused people too much, so a simple message was the only way to get through to consumers.
Worthington stressed that the campaigns including the Go for Two and Five were still important.