Both the Irish egg and poultrymeat industries are running marketing campaigns this summer in a bid to increase sales during the downturn.
While the eggs sector regularly runs campaigns, this year is a first for poultrymeat after the industry agreed to co-fund the campaign, with the remaining one third of the cost being met by Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board.
The adverts are promoting the Quality Assurance schemes for poultrymeat and eggs.
Given the recession, eggs were promoted under the slogan "Simply Tasty and Cracking Great Value," with adverts on radio and a recipe competition on the related website.
"Independent monitors of the campaign say we got a significantly higher response than the norm, said Owen Brooks, secretary general of the Irish Egg Association. "During the advertising campaign our website use went up enormously.
"What effect it is having on sales is slightly more difficult to say, because the structure of the market is somewhat changing, in that there is a recession, there is leakage to Northern Ireland, and the Eastern European immigrants are returning home and they were heavy egg users."
However, the Egg Quality Assurance Scheme came under attack from celebrity chef Richard Corrigan who said it includes non-Irish product, referring to Northern Irish eggs.
Bord Bia chief executive Aidan Cotter defended the move: "All products bearing the Bord Bia Quality Assurance mark are sourced completely from within the island of Ireland. This has continued to be the case over some 20 years during which the schemes have evolved.
"The suggestion that the organisation might apply its funding to promote products from outside Ireland and carrying an Irish label is false. It is misleading to consumers and extremely damaging to an industry that has come under enormous pressure in a very difficult marketing environment"
Mr Brooks clarified that the Quality Assurance label is granted to packing stations in the Republic of Ireland but eggs from farmers across the border in Northern Ireland are allowed under the scheme provided they adhere to Republic of Ireland Quality Assurance standards.
They differ from the UK, for example, in the approach in controlling salmonella with no vaccination.
Bord Bia told FWi that changes to labelling in the future will see the Northern Ireland name put on the egg box, although the individual egg stamps will remain.
The €400,000 (£338,000) egg campaign is equally funded by the '24">'Irish Egg Association and Bord Bia which runs the Egg Quality Assurance Scheme.