Project Sunlight shines for Unilever

Unilever is launching its first corporate TV campaign under the Project Sunlight umbrella brand to highlight sustainability issues.

Unilever estimates about 300 million people will view the eight adverts over the coming weeks in major markets, including the US and the UK.

Featuring a Bright Future Speech delivered by 15-year-old “young leader” Grace, the short film will air in the advert break of ITV’s show The X Factor.

The aim is to inspire those who see it to “get involved by raising awareness, volunteering or supporting NGOs [non-government organisations]who work to tackle hunger.”

The advert follows on from research undertaken by Unilever and Oxfam’s UK Poverty Programme, which found that 75% of people throw away food that could be eaten. 

According to the study, Waste not, Want not, the amount of food wasted could feed all of the UK householders suffering from “food poverty,” as one fifth of householders find it difficult to live on their income say they have borrowed money from family or friends to buy food.

As such, the advert will highlight the “paradox of food waste versus food poverty” and mark the launch an Instagram campaign against food waste, #ClearAPlate. 

This calls on members of the public to commit to reducing the amount of food they waste and posting pictures of “clear plates” (free from leftover food) as a sign of this commitment.

Jon Goldstone, vice president of brand building for foods and refreshments at Unilever UK, is leading the advertising push.

“This is a truly exciting time in Unilever’s history – the public launch of our corporate brand and what we stand for,” he says.

“We’ve made good progress in sustainability since the launch of the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan in 2010 but consumer behavioural change is still the most challenging area for us, so we hope that through this campaign we can get our shoppers on board, living more sustainably.”

He says while Project Sunlight highlights food waste and food poverty, “we know that it’s not as simple as saying ‘give your leftover food to those in need.’

“But by talking about these two issues together, we hope people will think about their food waste in the context of people who cannot afford to eat properly.”