Put the Cat (Cora) in Catfish

By JULIETTE ROSSANT You would think this would be an ad man's dream job. Cat Cora has signed up with the Catfish Institute as their first "celebrity spokesperson" to promote farm-raised catfish in an ad series. Think of the Seussian possibilities! "One Fish, Two Fish"... -- "Cat Fish, Food Fetish"? Imagine cute little Cat Fish swimming about. (But who would want to eat them? What would you do about the whiskers?) The Catfish Institute does not engage in such playful catfish puns: this is serious business. Cat's home state of Mississippi is the US's largest producer, accounting for over half of the industry's 565 million pounds of catfish last year, according to the Institute. The industry employs some 14,000 people across the country, and has successfully lobbied Washington to force Southeast Asian importers to label their catfish imports as "basa fish". Jeremy S. Robbins, Account Executive with The Ramey Agency told Super Chef: The first ad is set to run in the March/April issue of Cooking with Paula Deen, followed by the April/May issue of Fine Cooking. These will continue through the year, as well as other buys in Gourmet, Food Arts, Flavor and the Menu, and Chef magazines. Online ads will also feature Cat Cora on FoodNetwork.com, FineCooking.com, and FoodService.com. Meanwhile, Cat's nonprofit, Chefs for Humanity has joined forces with Action Against Hunger in a month-long campaign to raise awareness of world hunger, called "Save a Life in 30 Days". The campaign runs from April 10 through May 9, 2007, with more than 250 restaurants participating. Ninety percent of all funds raised will combat malnutrition and support lifesaving food and clean water assistance. On April 12, 2007, a Restaurants Against Hunger Celebrity Kick-off Gala takes place in New York City. The gala includes food from some of New York's finest restaurants, live music and a live auction. The question remains: will the Catfish Institute support Cat's hunger initiative? Here is Jeremy's answer: The Catfish Institute salutes Cat’s leadership and success with Chefs for Humanity. We will be supporting Cat and Chef’s for Humanity in every way that we can. The Institute reports that damage done by Hurricane Katrina severely impacted the catfish industry. Not only was production and processing negatively effected, catfish consumption was also significantly reduced because of the devastation to major consumer markets such as New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Catfish sales in these areas continue to be far below pre-hurricane levels. Rather than suppressing cheap imports, isn't there a way of making sure the hungry around the world get to eat the catfish the US doesn't want? Come on Cat-fish, use that clout and get the catfish industry to pony up on the right side of the hunger issue. Previous articles: Cat Cora FHM: MiniMart Chef? Cat Cora Joins Bon Appetit St. Patrick's: Cat Takes Hat Cat Cora Talks Money to Forbes Cat Cora: Chefs for Humanity Results: White House Woman Chef Cat Cora, Anita Lo: Sexing Up Iron Chef America Profile: Cat Cora for White House Chef Cat Cora Wins on Iron Chef America Cat Cora: Iron Chef America's First Lady World AIDS Day II: Iron Chef Cat Cora [Chefs & Branding - complete] [Food Television - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging --> back to Super Chef