HHCL creates 'turkey tussle' to highlight food safety

In the "turkey tussle" advertisement, a seven-foot turkey wreaks havoc on a couple at Christmas, springing out from behind Christmas decorations, knocking over the tree, squashing mince pies and stealing the TV remote control.

While the turkey wrestles with the man for the remote, a voiceover says: "Every year, turkeys spoil Christmas for thousands of people." It goes on to explain that turkeys should be defrosted and cooked properly to avoid food poisoning. The ad breaks tomorrow and will run on national television in the run-up to Christmas Day.

The ad was created and written by Al Young, and directed by Martin Granger through Bikini. It comes in response to the findings of government body the Food Standards Agency showing that December is the biggest month for poultry food poisoning outbreaks.

Minnie Moll, managing partner at HHCL, said: "We wanted to get the balance of giving important information but not being killjoys at Christmas. Research showed that 'turkey tussle' really hit the spot with the right tone of voice. A welcome reminder from the FSA that is engaging and amusing and not lecturing in any way."

The advertising has been backed by a PR campaign outlining safe ways of preparing and cooking turkey, and the FSA's website also has information on cooking Christmas dinner.

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This article was first published on brandrepublic.com