Embargo prevented whole Birds Eye story coming out

We read with interest your news story regarding our involvement with the new Birds Eye identity (DW 12 February).

Unfortunately, a Unilever press embargo on the full story prevented the correct facts and the full extent of the project being reported at that time.

To set the record straight, Carter Wong Tomlin won a five-way paid pitch in 2001 to re-brand not just Birds Eye, but Unilever’s other two European frozen food companies, Findus and Iglo. A unifying identity was required for all three companies, a marque that would work in

a similar way to what Carter Wong Tomlin created for all of Unilever’s global ice cream companies, Walls included, in 1997.

However, our challenge this time round was to create a total identity change to packaging for the three brands, rather than just applying a new marque to it all. Consequently, the Birds Eye ‘identity’ you illustrated in your piece was just one element in the total pack re-design and would never be seen alone as such.

Having designed the new look packaging across all the product platforms – from Captain Birds Eye to frozen peas – we then created comprehensive guidelines for each country to follow. Brewer Riddiford is implementing our packaging designs in the UK – along with other local consultancies across Europe for the other two brands.

We are proud to have spent the past two years creating the new look for Unilever’s frozen food companies, but feel our full involvement was misrepresented, through no fault of our own.

Phil Carter

Creative director

Carter Wong Tomlin

London W2