Birds Eye breaded cod fillets

Birds Eye has invested £4m in a new campaign to promote its coated fish lineup, alongside a packaging refresh to introduce Captain Birdseye across the range.

The iconic character was reintroduced by Birds Eye last year, but has been limited to promoting the brand’s fish fingers until now.

The new campaign is expected to reach more than 25 million consumers across TV, social media and VOD.

It comes alongside a packaging refresh for the range, with Captain Birdseye’s presence on pack designed to “aid standout and find-time on fixture”, it said.

The campaign will include a TV ad, debuting on 13 March, featuring Captain Birdseye inspecting his crew’s dinner. Social media activity will champion Friday as the time when families sit down to mark the weekend with Birds Eye.

“This campaign is about reminding the UK just how great fish and chips can be, especially now we have our new and improved Birds Eye battered and breaded fish range,” said marketing manager Adam Draper.

“Our trusted seafarer Captain Birdseye will be helping us to tell this story on-pack, online and on TV,” he added.

“The coated fish sector is currently worth over £200m and as the leading brand in frozen, we want to drive category growth in 2017, offering great tasting, quality products, supported with unrivalled category media investment.”