Seltzer firm Dash Water has landed itself in hot water with London’s TfL this week with it provocative new campaign promoting the use of ‘wonky’ fruit and veg in its seltzers to combat food waste.
Posting on LinkedIn, Dash Water’s senior brand manager Georgina Bolton Carter has claimed that “TFL refused to include a wonky aubergine in our tube campaign… but rather than simply remove it, we decided to make some noise about it.
“Food waste is one of the biggest environmental challenges we face, and overcoming it means we can no longer reject fruit and veg based on looks.
“We posted this image on social media and over the weekend it blew up, reaching over 2 million people – the power of reactive marketing never ceases to amaze me.”
Dash’s #lovewonky campaign includes various innovative out-of-home materials, including a deliberately ‘wonky’ billboard, a ‘wonky’ bench and posters dotted across the TfL network celebrating the misshapen, but still perfectly edible fruit and veg that is routinely thrown away by the grocery sector.
With recent research indicating that 93% of UK adults feel that businesses should be doing more to protect the environment, Dash will be hoping to tap into that sentiment with the 3 million people that this omnichannel campaign is projected to reach.
As part of the rollout, Dash is also set to hand out 120,000 cans of its seltzer to members of the public across the capital ranging from Central London, out to Wandsworth, Clapham and Shoreditch.
“We are so excited to launch our first ATL campaign,” DASH co-founder, Jack Scott said.
“Between 30-40% of fruit grown in the UK doesn’t reach our plates, which we think is crazy. The Deliciously wonky campaign emphasises the serious problem of food waste in a fun, eye catching way, making noise, and celebrating London’s wonky side.”
A TfL spokesperson said: “This creative was rejected as it does not comply with our advertising policy. An alternative creative is currently running on our network.”
