IF you’re one of the many millions of people who tune into the most popular shows on television, there’s a good chance you will have caught sight of Red Tractor’s new television advert.

It launched on Monday (22 March) – but if you’ve not seen it yet, fear not, as it will be running until the May Bank Holiday weekend and later in the year.

Coronation Street’s daily audience of six million – and Saturday Night Takeaway’s 7.3 million – are among the shows being targeted by the campaign to achieve peak exposure.

Red Tractor expects a whopping 45 million viewers to see the advert either on TV or online over the next eight weeks – that’s six million more people than the campaign reached last year.

So what’s the reason for the new advert, and why is the assurance scheme trying to reach even more people?

“One of our key objectives is to continue to increase the understanding of Red Tractor Assurance, which will result in increased consumer value and loyalty towards the scheme,” said CEO Jim Moseley.

The new advert follows the creative inspiration of its predecessor, but this time follows a mainstream mum shopping for her family and discovering the values that underpin the Red Tractor logo.

She goes on a journey from supermarket to farms and back again to learn how

Red Tractor’s high standards are met across a diverse range of sectors including sheep, dairy and fresh produce.

Jim said: “The campaign aims to set out our members farming credentials, and to celebrate the passion and care which goes into producing for the nation.

“We have showcased as many of Red Tractor’s sectors as possible, demonstrating the vast array of products the scheme covers that are found in shops.”

As with the first advert Red Tractor aired, a huge amount of care and attention has been taken to ensure continued recognition while evolving the story.

Based on the same model building and animation style as the likes of ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’, every single scene and model has been handmade, right down to the bread loaves and individual fruit and veg on the supermarket shelves.

The first opportunity consumers got to see the advert on television was on Monday, but it will be featuring across all major television stations and on-demand channels.

“As you would expect, it will be supported by social and digital channels,” Jim said.

“The first burst of advertising will run over the Easter period and will run alongside some of the most-watched shows in the UK.”

Television advertising is renowned as being extremely expensive, but Jim told Farmer that the results demonstrate its value.

“We have seen some great results from our advertising campaigns in the past. But we want to keep growing recognition and understanding of the scheme and the logo.

“Red Tractor is the most trusted assurance scheme in the UK, with 76 percent of shoppers aware of the logo seeing it as an independent source they can trust.

That’s equivalent to 15.5 million shoppers.”

The previous two-year campaign saw the recognition of the scheme among the UK’s main shoppers increase from 65 percent to 76 percent.

Last year, 37 million people in the UK saw Red Tractor’s TV advert, and they saw it an average of six times.

In 2021, they will see it an average of nine times, according to the scheme’s marketing experts.

While recognition of the logo remains high, its impact is also excellent.

Independent market research shows that 71 percent of shoppers say that their purchasing behaviour is positively influenced by seeing the Red Tractor logo.

Meanwhile, 43 percent say they would trade up from a less expensive product to a Red Tractor product if they saw it.