Is Jamie Oliver the Andy Warhol of food? Probably not.
It’s unlikely he’ll immortalise Yeo Valley the way Warhol did Campbell’s soup, but at the very least he’ll guarantee the yoghurt brand, along with Uncle Ben’s rice, 15 minutes of fame.
Channel 4 today announced a minor landmark in UK advertising with its first product placement deal on a food show. Oliver will use the two brands in recipes on Jamie’s 15-Minute Meals, a new series based on his book of the same name that airs in the autumn.
It’s easy to see why the brands opted for Oliver over subtler paid-for spots in dramatic programming - affable African-American relative Uncle Ben coming to visit The Inbetweeners, perhaps, or the cast of Hollyoaks holidaying in the idyllic Yeo Valley countryside for one of those occasional late-night specials where a cast regular takes ecstasy and wakes up in a ditch.
For Oliver, the obvious drawback is a hit to his credibility - especially if he spends the rest of the time hawking his own line of sauces and kitchenware. Certainly there’s no mention of the product placement deal in a lengthy bit of puff that appeared on his website today, although the great man says the recipes will reflect “produce that’s in season and available to everyone through supermarkets”.
Yeo Valley, for its part, has been more circumspect than Channel 4, spinning the deal as a result of Oliver being “a friend of the Mead family, owners of Yeo Valley” and a long-time fan of the brand. So not the cash then.
Either way, Oliver’s lengthy Sainsbury’s tie-up did neither party any harm and we’re not (yet) talking about tuning in for Jamie’s Trip Down the Supermarket to Buy a Delicious Microwave Ready Meal.
It’s an easy win for everyone that’s unlikely to worry too many viewers. Just don’t hold your breath for a tie-up with Bernard Matthews.
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