Captain Birdseye
Encyclopedia
Captain Birdseye, also known as Captain Iglo, is the advertising mascot
for the Birds Eye
frozen food brand founded by Clarence Birdseye
. Appearing in numerous television
and billboard
commercials, he has been played or modeled by various actor
s and is generally depicted as a clean living, older sailor with a white beard, dressed in merchant naval
uniform and with a seafaring accent.
products, of which fish fingers is probably the most-widely known. Because the Birds Eye brand is marketed to families, many of the advertising campaigns feature Captain Birdseye as having a 'crew' composed mostly of children in the preteen to teenage age groups, encouraging brand loyalty
from children and emphasizing the convenience of serving the company's products to their parents. An advertising campaign in the UK
in 2005 features Captain Birdseye categorically proclaiming that Birds Eye frozen ready-made meals contain no artificial flavors or preservatives, with obvious references to the products being healthy and nutritious to children.
The actor most associated with Captain Birdseye was John Hewer
, a Lowestoft man who played the character from 1967 to 1998. His tenure was interrupted by a hiatus in 1971, when the Captain was killed off by Birdseye, with an "obituary" in The Times
announcements section:
Birdseye decided to resurrect the character three years later, on 22 July 1974, to bolster its brand against rising competition and rising prices resulting from the Cod Wars. Hewer was brought back to portray the Captain, who soon recaptured his popularity with children. In 1993, he was named in a poll as the most recognizable captain on the planet after Captain Cook.
For a while in the late 90s, Captain Birdseye became a much younger, rugged, dark-haired man with designer stubble and a miniature submarine
, who indulged in far more action-packed adventures accompanied by his pet pelican
named Pedro, the advertising agencies presumably believing that the older white-bearded man would no longer have the same appeal to children as he once did. This version played by Thomas Pescod did not last long however, and the old version soon returned, now played by Martyn Reid.
The brand was acquired by Anglo-Dutch food conglomerate Unilever
, and was held until 2006, when it was sold to a private equity firm, Permira
.
he is known as "Käpt'n Iglo", in France
as "Captain Iglo" (the word "captain" being in English), in Portugal
as "Capitão Iglo", in Italy
as "Capitan Findus
", in Spain
as "Capitan Pescanova" , in Greece
as Kaptain Iglo (Κάπταιν Ίγκλο) and in The Netherlands
and Belgium
as "Kapitein Iglo".
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
for the Birds Eye
Birds Eye
__FORCETOC__Birds Eye is an international brand of frozen foods owned by Pinnacle Foods in North America and by private equity group Permira in Europe....
frozen food brand founded by Clarence Birdseye
Clarence Birdseye
Clarence Frank Birdseye II was an American inventor who is considered the founder of the modern method of freezing food.- Early work :...
. Appearing in numerous television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and billboard
Billboard (advertising)
A billboard is a large outdoor advertising structure , typically found in high traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertisements to passing pedestrians and drivers...
commercials, he has been played or modeled by various actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
s and is generally depicted as a clean living, older sailor with a white beard, dressed in merchant naval
Merchant Navy
The Merchant Navy is the maritime register of the United Kingdom, and describes the seagoing commercial interests of UK-registered ships and their crews. Merchant Navy vessels fly the Red Ensign and are regulated by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency...
uniform and with a seafaring accent.
History
The mascot is a reference to the brand's extensive and well-known range of frozen seafoodSeafood
Seafood is any form of marine life regarded as food by humans. Seafoods include fish, molluscs , crustaceans , echinoderms . Edible sea plants, such as some seaweeds and microalgae, are also seafood, and are widely eaten around the world, especially in Asia...
products, of which fish fingers is probably the most-widely known. Because the Birds Eye brand is marketed to families, many of the advertising campaigns feature Captain Birdseye as having a 'crew' composed mostly of children in the preteen to teenage age groups, encouraging brand loyalty
Brand loyalty
The American Marketing Association defines brand loyalty as:# The situation in which a consumer generally buys the same manufacturer-originated product or service repeatedly over time rather than buying from multiple suppliers within the category .# The degree to which a consumer consistently...
from children and emphasizing the convenience of serving the company's products to their parents. An advertising campaign in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 2005 features Captain Birdseye categorically proclaiming that Birds Eye frozen ready-made meals contain no artificial flavors or preservatives, with obvious references to the products being healthy and nutritious to children.
The actor most associated with Captain Birdseye was John Hewer
John Hewer
John Hewer was an English actor. He was born in Leyton, London.A stalwart of London's Players Theatre throughout his career, he appeared in many musical theatrical productions, including Sail Away and Six of One in London's West End theatre, but the highlight of his theatrical career was starring...
, a Lowestoft man who played the character from 1967 to 1998. His tenure was interrupted by a hiatus in 1971, when the Captain was killed off by Birdseye, with an "obituary" in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
announcements section:
Birdseye decided to resurrect the character three years later, on 22 July 1974, to bolster its brand against rising competition and rising prices resulting from the Cod Wars. Hewer was brought back to portray the Captain, who soon recaptured his popularity with children. In 1993, he was named in a poll as the most recognizable captain on the planet after Captain Cook.
For a while in the late 90s, Captain Birdseye became a much younger, rugged, dark-haired man with designer stubble and a miniature submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
, who indulged in far more action-packed adventures accompanied by his pet pelican
Pelican
A pelican, derived from the Greek word πελεκυς pelekys is a large water bird with a large throat pouch, belonging to the bird family Pelecanidae....
named Pedro, the advertising agencies presumably believing that the older white-bearded man would no longer have the same appeal to children as he once did. This version played by Thomas Pescod did not last long however, and the old version soon returned, now played by Martyn Reid.
The brand was acquired by Anglo-Dutch food conglomerate Unilever
Unilever
Unilever is a British-Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products....
, and was held until 2006, when it was sold to a private equity firm, Permira
Permira
Permira is a United Kingdom-based private equity firm with global reach. The firm advises funds with a total committed capital of approximately €20 billion....
.
Allusions
- In the UK televisionTelevisionTelevision is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
sitcomSituation comedyA situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
Only Fools and HorsesOnly Fools and HorsesOnly Fools and Horses is a British sitcom, created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom between 1981 and 1991, with sporadic Christmas specials until 2003...
, Derek Trotter once mockingly called Uncle AlbertUncle AlbertAlbert Gladstone Trotter is a fictional character from the popular BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. He was introduced during the fourth season as a replacement for the character of Grandad due to the death of actor Lennard Pearce...
'Captain Birdseye', in reference to their similar appearances and Uncle Albert's naval past. - The GoodiesThe GoodiesThe Goodies are a trio of British comedians who created, wrote, and starred in a surreal British television comedy series called The Goodies during the 1970s and early 1980s combining sketches and situation comedy.-Honours:All three Goodies now have OBEs...
parodied the adverts as 'Captain Fishface', ending with a note saying "Captain Fishface has your children. If you want them back send 2000 wrappers from Fishface Cod Pieces (after all...ye don't know what goes into my rissoles, do ye?...)" - Spoofs of the Birds Eye commercials featuring "Captain Fishy, the man with the fishy fingers" were featured by DJ Steve Wright on his BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
programme in the UK in the early 1990s.
Naming
In GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
he is known as "Käpt'n Iglo", in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
as "Captain Iglo" (the word "captain" being in English), in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
as "Capitão Iglo", in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
as "Capitan Findus
Findus
Findus is a company that produces and retails frozen food. Its products include Crispy Pancakes, which were invented in the early 1970s.- Origins :...
", in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
as "Capitan Pescanova" , in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
as Kaptain Iglo (Κάπταιν Ίγκλο) and in The Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
as "Kapitein Iglo".