Egg week to celebrate Hancock’s ‘go to work on an egg’ half century

British Egg Week is to celebrate half a century since the iconic series of “go to work on an egg” adverts were first aired, alongside a wide range of activities aimed at boosting the consumption of eggs.

It runs this year from 5-11 October, and represents the culmination of promotional activity funded by members of the British Egg Industry Council (BEIC).

See also: A Poultry World guide to marketing your eggs

The campaigning follows what the BEIC said had been a “strong” summer for egg sales.

Children at four schools have won the chance to recreate the adverts, which starred comedian Tony Hancock, in a series of workshops which will feature on British Lion’s Youtube channel.

Another initiative is a series of advertorials reminding new mums that there is no need to delay the introduction of eggs during weaning.

They will highlight the nutritional benefits of eggs to infants, and that the risk of egg allergies can be reduced with their introduction to diets at six months of age.

British Lion has also partnered with dieting organisation Slimming World, which has some 700,000 members, to feature 10 healthy new recipes featuring eggs.

And Boost, the Scottish slimmers magazine will run a four-page feature on egg recipes.

‘Bumper sales’

Andrew Joret, chairman of the BEIC, said: “Following a summer of bumper sales we are looking forward to a number of exciting projects in the autumn, including campaigns aimed at slimmers, new parents and kids.

“These projects will bring the benefits of eggs to a range of different consumers and help to grow the market even further.”