[#1]

I just picked up on a different thread, someone mentioned the Iceland campaign slogan "because mums are heroes"

OK OK OK OK before I get my head bitten off I KNOW how busy mums are often juggling their job with their family, they haven't got the time or money to create a meal out of Delia Smith's collection each night but, what is "heroic" about serving up all that frozen junk food?

I do acknowledge that Icelend sells the odd other things that are cheaper than the other supermarkets but it is mainly about frozen ready meals. That Kerry Katona went RIGHT down in my estimation when she did those adverts. I know she's not a posh bird by any means but she's made enough money she could afford the best of everything (including for her daughters) but has admitted in her magazine column when talking about her weight loss that she lives on junk and rarely has a single vegetable in the fridge. She looks good on it but for how long!

I have a friend with a 3 year old, she works full time and was never a good cook but she still manages to make a balanced meal every night without spending hours or a fortune, and her daughter doesn't even know what McDonalds or pizza IS!

[#2]

I just picked up on a different thread, someone mentioned the Iceland campaign slogan "because mums are heroes"

OK OK OK OK before I get my head bitten off I KNOW how busy mums are often juggling their job with their family, they haven't got the time or money to create a meal out of Delia Smith's collection each night but, what is "heroic" about serving up all that frozen junk food?

I do acknowledge that Icelend sells the odd other things that are cheaper than the other supermarkets but it is mainly about frozen ready meals. That Kerry Katona went RIGHT down in my estimation when she did those adverts. I know she's not a posh bird by any means but she's made enough money she could afford the best of everything (including for her daughters) but has admitted in her magazine column when talking about her weight loss that she lives on junk and rarely has a single vegetable in the fridge. She looks good on it but for how long!

I have a friend with a 3 year old, she works full time and was never a good cook but she still manages to make a balanced meal every night without spending hours or a fortune, and her daughter doesn't even know what McDonalds or pizza IS!

[#3]

I thought that slogan had been dropped by Iceland? Don't they now use "....so that's why Mums go to Iceland"?

I agree with your point though - mums are not heroes for shopping at Iceland! Or heroes just for having kids. For some kids though, their Mums (and Dads) are heroes (am I making any sense LOL?).

madcat

[#4]

Answer - Nothing

It takes longer - probably to cook the frozen junk than it would to whip up an omlette filled with an assortment of fillings. I can think of lots of helthy meals that you can cook in ten mins flat, from scratch, using fresh ingrediants, that are healthy and far cheaper.

J

[#5]

In my house, my bloody DAD was the hero, for taking care of me single handedly, feeding me without resorting to frozen shite, buying me clothes, etc. So the whole outdated concept of mum feeding the family really gets to me.

I mean, seriously. What century are their advertising team living in?

I agree, there is nothing heroic about feeding your already hyped up kids turkey twislers, fried chips and spagetti Bob The Builders. They feed their pets better than their kids!

And Kerry Katona is, in my eyes, nothing more than a common biffer who would sell her soul to get on the front of poxy Heat magazine.

Good luck to Gordon Ramsey and 'spitty' Oliver in their attempt to get people cooking again.

BTE x

[#6]

*And Kerry Katona is, in my eyes, nothing more than a common biffer who would sell her soul to get on the front of poxy Heat magazine*

PMSL I havent heard the word BIFFER in a long time lmao.

I do have a problem with people that say its cheaper to buy frozen foods etc. ITS NOT. There is so many lovely recipes that cost 3 - 4 pounds that is good and healthy for you. The average family goes to Maccy's and spends 10-12 pounds god thats two healthy meals. I love cooking and I love veg, salad and fruits and so does my children . I do like the odd treat to a fast ffod place but Iceland is not somewhere I could go for my weekly shop! (even if I did live in the UK lol)

Melanie x

[#7]

Yeah, I have a tendency to resurrect old insults due to the fact I have an 11 year old brother. It makes me laugh when I hear them again (wimp, biffer, moose, geek, etc) and then I find myself using them!

I agree - I know that for the price I could pay for a McDonalds grease feast, I could make something really tasty, low fat and healthy, and still have money to spare! I just don't know how these so called 'low income families' afford to do it!

BTE x

[#8]

Hi Mel and BTE,

What's a 'biffer'? I do not have an 11 year old brother to tell me this stuff - I do however have an 11 year old nephew who thinks i am a relic from the dark ages...so if you would be kind enough to let me know, I can astound him.

Regarding Iceland. Do you think that this advertising campaign is deliberately targeted at low income families? After this debate started, I asked a friend (a mother of a 10 year old boy) what she thought of the Kerry Katona ad - she said 'scandalous!'. She also pointed out that there is nothing remotely heroic about bringing your child up well - it is a duty! (interesting word, that). Perhaps Ms Katona would have better used her celebrity to promote healthy eating.

(Sending a wave to you Mel, I am over in your neck of the woods the week after next. Looking forward to riding around on my bike and getting on trains that at least have a chance of running on time.)

Regards,

GG

[#9]

What annoyed me about the Kerry Katona/Iceland endorsement thing was the advert at Christmas that went something along the lines of Kerry studying a complicated looking recipe book for preparing the Christmas dinner... whereupon she remarks "Get a life!". Cut to her shopping in Iceland & then later having a bit of a do at her house, where she pretends she has made all the food herself.

It really got on my nerves... as if people who spend time & care feeding their families/entertaining their guests don't have a life!! (A thought that contradicts itself later anyway, with the insinuation that she cooked it all herself.)

Is this the image that is actually succesful in encouraging families to shop at Iceland? Why don't they just call it Chavland & be done with it?!!

Aleezz xx

[#10]

Agree with you all. I can make a meal of pasta, and beanfeast (yummy and low fat) for about a quid. It feeds 4 of us. We have grated cheese over it too and ketchup. (That's just an example of a cheapo, whip-it-up-in-ten-minutes kind of meal - not one I'd do for Sunday lunch.) Similarly omlettes yes, you can put anything in them and they cost about a quid to feed a family of four too!

Must admit that I buy ready meals at times, because they are 5 for £3.50 in Tesco, and that is cheap (I think Most families have these some of the time, in my honest opinion) and we do have them occasionally, but we don't LIVE on them. We have lots of various meals, including a whole chicken once a week (occasionally twice). It costs £2.79 and feeds all four of us, along with some veggie and some roast tatos - The WHOLE chicken meal (incl veggies) for four, costs roughly the same price of one extra value meal from maccys.

I cannot STAND Kerry friggin' Katona. I think she's a real biffer too; an utter minger! Her voice is vile, her boobs are always in your face, and I will never forget her saying once on a tv proggie "So I got me tits out, big deal! I have worked really hard all my life and now I'm a millionaire!!!" WHAT has she done exactly? Nowt! She only got rich through marrying Westlife boy Bryan, who had the good sense to leave her. Yuk, she's horrible!

Agree that there is nothing heroic about cooking ready meals - lol. And I hate the iceland ads too.

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Edited 05/02/2006 22:36 ET by helenfromleeds

[#11]

Hi

I must be really lucky with where I live, because my local Iceland has a fresh fruit and veg section as well as deli meats and fresh bread.

I shop in Iceland all the time, and I'm bordering on obsessive about healthy eating! I never buy frozen ready meals (check out the eating for health board and you'll never buy them again!) and I go to great lengths to ensure my daughter gets calcium from non-dairy foods because we are dairy-free. I think you're all being a bit unfair suggesting that people who shop in Iceland aren't thinking of their kids' health. I do find it expensive to buy fresh veg and salad, because I'm on my own with my daughter, which means that salad stuff usually goes off before we have time to finish it. For a family of four or five, buying the ingredients for a salad probably provides good value for money, but not for us. I still buy it though, because there's no way round it (you can't freeze it), and it's so good for you. My daughter loves it too. I do buy frozen veg though 9as well as some fresh), because it's cheaper for us. People might see me coming out of Iceland and assume I'm going home to shove the ready meals in the freezer, but if they looked in my bag they'd see multi-packs of carrots (my daughter takes a carrot in her lunch box every day), brown bread and frozen veg.

I HATE the Iceland advertising campaigns, because they just reinforce the idea that Mums should do all the 'House' work - when have you ever seen a Dad in these adverts, doing something other than looking adoringly at Mum?!

Shemy xx