?Florette, one of the produce category's best-recognised brands, has been busy advertising its bagged salads again this year. It spent £2.8m running a 30-second spot with the tagline 'Fresh from the fields of Florette'. It features salad growers lined up to present leaves for inspection. The successful ones see their leaves bagged and the full pack handed to a car waiting next to the field. "It fits the freshness and quality of Florette, which gives consumers a reason to buy the brand," said MD Mark Newton. Florette's owner Soleco also launched a new range of steamed vegetables, building on a TV ad it ran last year featuring growers in a steam bath.



Del Monte UK has been another big advertising spender over the past 12 months with its first campaign in two years. Last summer it ran a 30-second clip showing people of all ages eating fruit "in energetic lifestyle settings" such as playing sport. It aimed to reinforce Del Monte's 97% brand recognition by showcasing the company's quality fruit products under the slogan 'Say yes to the best'.

The British part of the business is also mulling the return of the well-known man from Del Monte, although this is not thought to be supported by Del Monte in the US.



?Tesco began the year with a controversial promotion on fresh produce called the fruit and vegetable pledge. The retailer said that it would offer five fruit and veg lines each week at half price, changing every week for the year. The promotion courted criticism, with press claims that Tesco was raising fruit and veg prices before cutting them in half for the pledge. Even so, the mark down is thought to be worth millions of pounds to the consumer.