McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes and Welsh pop icon Bonnie Tyler have joined forces to educate Brits on the wonders of eclipses, following research that reveals the nation’s giant knowledge gap when it comes to our solar system.
A new study of 2,000 Brits reveals that almost half (49%) of the nation do not understand how a lunar eclipse occurs.
Ahead of the partial lunar eclipse visible across the UK on Saturday, October 28, McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes, who have been teaching Brits about Eclipses since their iconic 1999 TV ad, have teamed up with the ‘Total Eclipse Of The Heart’ star and fellow eclipse enthusiast, Bonnie Tyler to create a new entertaining video to explain all about the lunar occurrence. Bringing back the legendary Full Moon, Half Moon, Total Eclipse eating ritual to a new generation of snackers.
Bonnie Tyler commented, " Given my connection to eclipse-related matters, I was very happy to collaborate with McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes to educate Britain about the science behind this magnificent lunar phenomenon. I hope that after watching this video, people throughout the UK will gain a deeper understanding of the night sky."
Highlighting the nation’s cluelessness when it comes to the workings of the solar system, research also reveals almost a third of Brits (31%) believe that the Earth orbits the Sun every day rather than once a year. Furthermore the study shows that half (50%) of Brits are not aware that the Moon orbits the Earth and 48% unaware that Earth itself orbits the Sun.
84% of Brits wrongly believe that the moon is round with only 12% answering correctly that it is an oblate spheroid aka ‘egg shaped’.
Surprisingly, almost two thirds of Brits (62%) were unaware there are eight planets in our solar system, despite over half (51%) of Brits claiming that their knowledge of space is average or above.
46% of Brits say they’d like to go into space, given the chance.
93% of Brits didn’t know that a Partial Lunar Eclipse was happening on Saturday, October 28, however once informed, two in five said they planned to watch it.
Bonnie Tyler and McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes, the classic zingy orange and dark chocolatey treat, have a long history with eclipses, with the pop legend celebrating the 40th anniversary of her smash hit ‘Total Eclipse Of The Heart’ this year.
To pay homage to the fellow eclipse enthusiast’s iconic song, McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes have also partnered with superstar DJ, Majestic, to remix Total Eclipse of the Heart – with a twist – including a sample of Bonnie reciting the iconic Jaffa Cake’s catchphrase of ‘Full Moon, Half Moon, Total Eclipse’.
Majestic climbed to the top of the UK top charts with his remix of Boney M’s Rasputin in 2021 after achieving viral success on TikTok. The remix of Total Eclipse of the Heart is now available on TikTok and will be on Spotify and other Digital Streaming Platforms.
McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes have been entertaining and educating Brits on eclipses since their famous 1999 TV ad, which saw a schoolteacher explain the phenomena using a packet of the chocolate orange treats. The nostalgic ad, and Full Moon, Half Moon, Total Eclipse eating ritual, later had a resurgence following the solar eclipse and continues to be impersonated by fans of the iconic brand.
Aslı Özen Turhan, Chief Marketing Officer at McVitie’s UK & Ireland said: “We’re so pleased that McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes can continue to act as a tasty tool for future generations to learn about the workings of the solar system and eclipses in an entertaining way – and who better to team up with than the queen of eclipses herself, Bonnie Tyler. We hope many people will enjoy this lesson and feel they know just a bit more about the night sky.