“You Couldn’t Make It Up!” Vegans Irate Over Waitrose Ad Promoting Eggs During Plant-Based Cooking Show

“You Couldn’t Make It Up!” Vegans Irate Over Waitrose Ad Promoting Eggs During Plant-Based Cooking Show
B&T Magazine
Edited by B&T Magazine



Last Sunday, UK free-to-air channel ITV broadcast its first plant-based cooking show Living on the Veg.

The ten-part series, hosted by Henry Firth and Ian Theasby, centres on recreating classic recipes with plant-based food.

However, things took a turn when during the show, an ad from Waitrose, which sponsors the show, promoted farm animals and poached egg on toast.

While the first of its kind cooking show received praise overall, many viewers were irate over the awkward placement of the Waitrose ad.

One person took to social media and said: “Can you please replace the Waitrose sponsorship images of cows, chickens and eggs around the Living on the Veg plant-based cooking show? It’s totally misleading. I am sure you can use images of plants, fruits and veggies to be more appropriate.”

Another said: “Loving that the vegan cooking show on ITV is sponsored by a Waitrose advert for eggs.”

One wrote: “Gotta love the vegan TV show on ITV London,  adverts topped and tailed with chickens and cows – sponsored by Waitrose. You couldn’t make it up.”

A Waitrose & Partners spokesperson told the Telegraph: “We’re sorry for the sponsorship credits used around this programme on Sunday – our credits top and tail a number of food shows on ITV and we didn’t know the subject of this one in advance.”

PETA director of Vegan Corporate Projects, Dawn Carr said: “Waitrose missed a trick here. Rather than flogging animal parts that fewer and fewer people want, the supermarket chain could have seized the opportunity to showcase its impressive range of plant-based meal options.”

An ITV spokesperson said: “Waitrose’s sponsorship with ITV is pegged around Sunday morning cookery programming, as opposed to the Living on the Veg show specifically. As such the brand indents are tailored around cookery themes, and absolutely no offence was intended.”




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