EUROPE - Adding sautéed potatoes to my rice bowl while loudly proclaiming my love for the root veg probably puts me a couple steps above the average consumer in my appreciation for potatoes, at least in my own estimate. However, an ad launch put forth by the European Union is looking to challenge that notion with its “Love Potatoes” campaign.

Spanning in-print ads, videos, and the digital reach of social media, consumers are dared to become enamored with potatoes in a more unconventional way than most industry campaigns. Confident spuds are depicted in a variety of situations that may equally conflict and entertain the senses. 

These ads are “a fun way to get younger consumers to see potatoes as a healthy source of fibre and potassium, as well as being naturally fat-free and easy to cook,” Rob Clayton, U.K.’s Agriculture and Horticulture Development (AHDB) Board Potato Strategy Director, said according to The Sun. 

Though the campaign touches on everything from yoga to holidays, the main theme is that potatoes are “fat-free and easy,” and thus highly desirable–no matter a consumer's preference. Suave spuds accompanied by suggestive text like “you just got lucky” is putting potatoes in a more controversial light than the stalwart selection is used to, but boosting potatoe sales by 2.9 percent, according to the Potato Council.

Equally funded by an EU grant and the Potato Council, which is overseen by the AHDB, the EU spent £1.8 million (or over $2 million USD) on the campaign. In addition to its eye-brow raising graphics, the EU is hosting recipes from celebrity cooks on the campaign’s website. 

Though some, in my opinion incorrectly, have referred to the campaign as a “waste of time,” sales–and spuds–don't lie. Will more fruits and veg find themselves tempting this strange and alluring spotlight soon?