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Jamie Oliver new face of Woolworths

JamieOliverWoolworths has signed up Jamie Oliver, the celebrity chef credited with turning around the fortunes of British supermarket chain Sainsbury’s.

According to today’s announcement, Oliver will be used to promote fresh food messages by the brand. Rival supermarket Coles has a similar strategy using Curtis Stone.

In a video message to launch his involvement, Oliver said: “I’m going to be working across the whole the business, front and back end… whether it’s on magazines, on websites, on receipte cards, on adverts.”


According to the announcement “The partnership will focus on bringing better, healthier, affordable fresh food to life for everyday Australians, giving them the information and confidence to prepare great tasting fresh meals at home.”

As part of the deal, Woolworths has committed to phase out the sale of caged eggs, a practice Oliver has campaigned against.

Woolworths MD Tjeerd Jegen, said:  “This partnership is a natural fit – Jamie is world famous for his passion for fresh food, and Woolworths is Australia’s fresh food people.”

Oliver’s long running partnership with Sainsbury’s ended in 2011, after appearing in more than 100 ads.

In 2005 a promotion for Sainsbury’s featuring Oliver urging shoppers to try something new was credited with shifting nine tonnes of nutmeg, the equivalent of the previous two years’ sales.

The Oliver-fronted “feed your family for a fiver” campaign – since aped by Coles in Australia – was said to have grown sales of featured lines by 200 per cent.

Woolworths lead creative agency is Droga5 which was appointed to the account in March last year.

Asked about Oliver’s role in future ads, a spokesman said: “Jamie will also be appearing in our marketing campaigns very soon. Watch this space.”

The announcement comes days after Coles announced a tie up with Heston Blumenthal.

Tim Burrowes

 

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