Palmettovore
From Sunshine Review
Palmettovore is an advertising campaign designed for the South Carolina Department of Agriculture by Columbia, SC, advertising agency Chernoff Newman. The campaign, which cost $100,000,[1] features actors dressed up as fruits and vegetables – Tom Tomato, Priscilla Peach, Carter Corn, Chuck Collard, Stella Strawberry and Walter Watermelon – and makes the case for South Carolinians to “buy local.”
[edit] Problems with the campaign
Palmettovore's goal is to get South Carolinian's to eat more local produce and products because they’re supposedly "fresher, they’re healthier, better for the environment and doing so will boost the state’s economy." Those claims are difficult to back up, however, given the many regulations inherent in the food industry and the fact that it’s unlikely the average South Carolinian is able to differentiate, say, a Palmetto State peach from one grown in Georgia.
Also, transporting produce by rail is far less taxing on the environment than doing so by truck, so it’s often easier on the environment in terms of air pollution and wear and tear on roads to import produce by train from other states to Columbia than it is to ship it in-state by tractor trailer.
Others problems with the Palmettovore campaign include the fact that South Carolina doesn't grow a wide enough variety of crops to satisfy the needs of all its residents, catering to an in-state audience effectively dissuades outsiders from buying Palmetto State goods, and encouraging buyers to purchase only South Carolina products increases a monopoly-like atmosphere, which tends to discourage competition and quality, and increase prices.[2]
[edit] External links
- South Carolina Policy Council report detailing Chernoff Newman's work for SC Department of Agriculture.
- Palmettovore: Shilling for SC Farmers.
- Bad Economics Gives SC Ag a Poor Return.
- Palmettovore website.
- Become a Palmettovore and help farmers in South Carolina
- Pushing 'local' isn't state's business
