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An Adorkably Dedicated West Country Farmer Freshens Up the Frozen Meal
That salty tang doesn't just come from the earth, but from the sweat of brows!
Keen to show that not every box you pop in your freezer’s full of junk, Ginsters and TBWALondon have found a quirky but dedicated farmer to illustrate the Cornwall-based pasty brand’s merits. “Taste the Effort” below. (That salty tang doesn’t just come from the earth, but from the sweat of brows!)
Check out the long cut as well.
A bit of disambiguation here: Pasties are basically Hot Pockets with fluffier crusts and heartier fillings, generally of the veg, meat and potato variety. (We don’t presume to know what kind of pasty you were thinking about … but if they involve tassels, these aren’t those.)
Ginsters may be freezer fare, but the contents are high-quality and locally sourced, without artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. In this work directed by Rosie May Bird-Smith of Biscuit Films, we meet Ginsters farmer Merryn, a jovial cross between the Trunchbull and Napoleon Dynamite. She’s serious about her work, and big on effort.
Her life is a tribute to her work; a photo on the wall depicts her clutching a cauliflower like a newborn child, and she holds job interviews for her earthworms. But she also makes good points: “Veg doesn’t grow itself, does it?” No, Merryn, it doesn’t. It’s a craft.
The end of the ad shows her wistfully watching her potato children truck off to the Ginsters factory, where they’ll meet their fates. (We’ve seen that movie.) The sorrow doesn’t last long; moments later, somebody places a warm Ginsters pasty in her hands, and she can appreciate the fruit (er, veg) of her labors in proper Cornish context.
“A farmer is the perfect way to tell a quality ingredient story,” says TBWALondon ECD Andy Jex. “We just needed to do it in a more stand-out way with a voice that felt authentically Cornish and Ginsters. We were lucky to find Merryn, a seriously funny farmer with a serious view of veg.”
Merryn’s a great find. Something about her naturally expands a narrative world; you could build campaigns on that for years. Here’s hoping we see more of her.
Angela Natividad is the European markets editor at Muse by Clio. She also writes about gaming and fashion, and whatever else she’s interested in, really. She’s based in Paris and North Italy, so if you’re local, say hi. She might eat all your food.
