The Egg Marketing Board was an agricultural marketing organization set up by the British government in December 1956 to stabilise the market for eggs due to a widespread collapse in sales. The Board purchased all the eggs produced in the UK, graded them to a national standard, and then marketed them to shops. Each eggshell was stamped with a small "lion" logo as a mark of quality that would be seen by the customer. Egg producers were paid according to the quality of their eggs, less a deduction based on the number of eggs sent to packhouses for administration and advertising.[1]
Slogans used by the board included "Go to work on an egg", introduced in 1957 in a £12 million advertising campaign and turned into a series of television advertisements starring Tony Hancock, Bernard Miles and also featuring Patricia Hayes and Pat Coombs that ran for six years from 1965 to 1971. Other slogans included "Happiness is egg-shaped",[2] "Eggs are cheap", "Eggs are easy" and "Eggs are full of protein".[3][4][5]
The Board closed down in 1971 and the lion mark was dropped. The lion mark was however revived in 1998 by the British Egg Information Service.[1][6]
See also
edit- Go to work on an egg — advertising campaign from the 1950s directed by Len Fulford.[7]
References
edit- ^ a b "On this day, 21 June 1968: Egg board 'should be scrapped'", BBC News. Retrieved 22 June 2007.
- ^ Egg Marketing Board: Hancock on Eggs, British Film Institute database.
- ^ "‘Go to work on an egg’ ad banned", TimesOnline, 20 June 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2007.
- ^ "Watchdog goes to work on egg advert"[dead link], Telegraph.co.uk, 21 June 2007. retrieved 22 June 2007.
- ^ "Do not go to work on an egg", Guardian Unlimited, 20 June 2007. Retrieved 22 June 2007.
- ^ Lion Quality Mark, British Egg Information Service. Retrieved 22 June 2007.
- ^ Davison, Phil (2011-12-30). "Len Fulford: Director behind the 'Go to work on an egg' and Guinness 'toucan' commercials". The Independent. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
