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Findus: Battered Cod Steaks
A 1970s ad proposing Findus Battered Cod Steaks as the centrepiece of a healthy family meal.
Overview
“Juicy white cod, frozen fresh from the sea” promises the voiceover, reflecting Clarence Birdseye’s original 1920s discovery that if white fish is frozen as soon as possible after being caught, it will retain its taste and texture for months. This commercial subtly extols the virtues of Findus Battered Cod Steaks as an all-round family meal: while the phrase “you’re giving them” suggests catering for children, the close-up of a bottle of Turpin white wine being poured tells a different story.
Once considered an extravagant luxury, the British freezer became a genuine mass market item in the 1970s, leading to a marked increase in the range and type of frozen foods on offer and even the establishment of dedicated frozen food supermarkets such as Bejam (now Iceland). Swedish brand Findus had been distributed in the UK market for two decades already, and their Battered Cod Steaks were essentially a larger variation on the now long-established fish finger, only surrounded by batter instead of breadcrumbs. This last point is emphasised by an audible crunch as the knife slices across it.
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