Celebrity cholesterol challenge

The Diary thinks that adland may have finally run out of sane ideas for product launches.

After the EU’s novel foods committee spent months discussing whether Flora pro.activ is safe to put on supermarket shelves, Unilever is finally rolling out its “cholesterol busting” margarine.

As a gimmick, the company has drafted in stars who include Sir Steven Redgrave, Jack Charlton, Jo Guest, Sir Henry Cooper, Vanessa Feltz and David Vine. A glitzy launch party? No, the great and good are revealing their cholesterol levels.

If only companies spent as much on informing consumers about healthy eating as they do on meaningless promotional launches.