Mastercard partners The Big Lunch project

Mastercard is launching its first-ever corporate social responsibility themed ‘Priceless’ ad campaign in the UK.

The first print ads will roll out tomorrow while television ads will hit screens in May. A social media marketing push will also be unveiled later this year.

The advertising supports ‘The Big Lunch’ social cohesion initiative, created by the Eden Project, which aims to get everyone in the UK to sit down for lunch with their neighbours on July 19th. The tagline for the campaign, created by McCann Erickson, reads: “Turning your street into a neighbourhood – priceless.”

While Mastercard is an official “partner” of the Eden Project in The Big Lunch, the initiative also has the Royal Mail, the Post Office and EDF Energy involved as sponsors. The Royal Mail will be helping the project by franking mail with The Big Lunch logo and website address.

The Big Lunch is being launched this morning in Covent Garden with a 2000 square foot ‘edible invite’ of fruit, vegetables and flowers, created by volunteers from community groups around the country.

Talking to Marketing Week, Ben Rhodes, vice president of marketing for the UK and Ireland at Mastercard, revealed: “We’re always doing research around what matters to people to inform our ‘Priceless’ campaign and we were hearing about communities falling apart and feelings of isolation. This lunch is the ultimate Priceless moment.”