Playing the patriotic card can be a risky business, it often smacks of desperation or extreme shi... more..

Playing the patriotic card can be a risky business, it often smacks of desperation or extreme shiftyness. EDF or Energie de France wrapping itself up in a green union jack is a good example of the latter. For Hovis, on the other hand, it's not a bad move. They have always presented themselves as a thoroughly British brand, and to tell us that Hovis is made only from British wheat seems logical and quite fitting.

Indeed so logical and fitting is it, that I begin to wonder why they have not said this before. Cynical old buzzard that I am, I can only conclude that they didn't because they couldn't, on account of the fact that they were sourcing their wheat from all over the shop.

Now, for whatever reason, carbon footprint hysteria, the value of local provenance, or simply the low price of UK wheat, they are able to make this claim, and are right to do so.

The ads are nicely done, in an engagingly realistic style, and I think it is Nigel Planer who delivers the information in a suitably low key British fashion. Why they have chosen No more heroes by the Stranglers to accompany the bacon sandwich ad is a bit of a puzzle, but not an unpleasant one. They could be seen as a thoroughly British band, but the song, No more Heroes seems to be somewhat at odds with the message of the ad - Hovis is still a bit of a British hero. Well, that's how it struck me, but to be honest it's only a small niggle, and I like the track, so no big deal really.

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