Big Lunch

Leah Whittingham
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

Has anyone noticed the new television ad from MasterCard?  It promotes an idea called the Big Lunch, which is to take place on Sunday 19 July 2009 and will be a national event.  For one afternoon, everyone will be encouraged to decorate their street, prepare a meal, go outside and interact with their neighbors.

It’s somewhat interesting that a credit card company is turning away from the classic sponsorship deals – sports/music to a more social responsibility theme.  With the credit industry under scrutiny following the recession, Master-card is hoping that advertising this partnership will help position the company as one that understands “what matters to people” in any economic environment.

In an interview Rita Broe, Head of Marketing, UK & Ireland, MasterCard, said: ‘We are being told by consumers that communities matter to them, now more than ever, and we’re hoping that the event and campaign will encourage people to think about re-connecting with their communities, in a simple yet powerful way’.

It is difficult to see a credit card company in this caring and sharing light.  And there is not a long-term commitment to this partnership; I imagine they are going to see if it’s popular first.  However, it does examine the impact of the recession and is starting to profile the opportunities that exist for place based work because of a potential change in values.  Perhaps finally the importance of place and an emphasis on the importance of investing in communities is going to be accepted.

The organisation behind the Big Lunch (http://www.thebiglunch.com/) is the Eden Project, the same people that run the Eden center.  On their website they give some context to the idea behind Big Lunch: ‘In April of last year, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation conducted a survey of 3,500 people. Their biggest single concern, across the social spectrum, was that communities are weak and people are increasingly isolated from their neighbors.  We know from studies around the world that there is almost a mathematical correlation between people’s sense of security and happiness and the number of neighbors they actively know. Now, amidst the worst recession for decades, and in the face of almost overwhelming environmental problems, we need to focus on community.’

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ABOUT THIS AUTHOR


Leah Whittingham
Programme Manager for Living Places - a partnership project between the cultural agencies and governement that supports the development of cultural infrastructure in areas of housing growth across England.

  1. Sarah Butler
    June 4th, 2009

    Hi, this is Sarah Butler here, I’m going to be guest blogging in a couple of weeks. I thought this post was really interesting, Leah – a strange mix between heartening (the thoughts about community, how important it is, how it is perhaps changing/disintegrating at present and the growing recognition that steps need to be taken to harness the benefits of positive community relationships) and then the cynicism/uncomfortableness of having a credit card company backing this. Are they doing this for any other reason than looking good? Or is that just cynicism on my part, because it is at least a positive move in the right direction.
    One thing that I wonder a lot about in the participatory/community projects I do, is how much can be achieved by ‘top down’, national initiatives such as these, rather than ‘bottom up’ initiatives that start within communities? Is it that they act as catalysts and create opportunities, make people feel part of something bigger?

    Reply


  2. Raindance.TV
    June 22nd, 2009

    Saw you were writing about The Big Lunch and thought you might be interested in a competition we’re running ahead of the day itself. I am from Raindance, the organisation that promotes independent film and runs the Raindance Film Festival — we’re inviting people to make a film about the Big Lunch and offering two £1000 prizes for the best. There’s still time to enter the competition if it’s of interest. Full details are at http://raindance.tv/thebiglunch

    Reply


  3. Raindance.TV
    June 29th, 2009

    Due to unprecedented demand to enter The Big Lunch Short Film Competition, some filmmakers have been requesting a bit more time to complete their films. We’re pleased to announce that we can extend the competition deadline until midnight Sunday 5 July. Competition details at http://raindance.tv/thebiglunch

    Reply


  4. RaindanceTV
    July 13th, 2009

    Hi, I recently wrote to you about The Big Lunch Short Film Competition. Entries have closed but check out our fab finalists – the one with the most views on YouTube wins 1k! http://raindance.tv/news/09-07-2009/finalists-announced-big-lunch-short-film-competition

    Reply

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