The Liz Truss lettuce video created by the Daily Star has been acquired by the British Film Institute’s National Archive, three years to the day since she resigned as Prime Minister.
The Daily Star says it went viral and made headlines around the world on 14th October 2022 when it began a livestream of a 60p Tesco iceberg lettuce next to a framed photograph of beleaguered PM Truss, who had been appointed the previous month.
When Truss announced her resignation on 20th October 2022, having served just 49 days in office and holding the shortest PM tenure in British history, the Daily Star declared the world’s most talked-about lettuce "victorious" over Truss.
Truss may not have been a fan of the infamous vegetable, added the publisher, but judges at Cannes Lions festival of creativity were, awarding the stunt Bronze at their prestigious awards in 2023.
The Daily Star claims its viral footage got 2.9m views on X, 2.3m views on YouTube and hundreds of thousands of shares, rooting itself in the centre of the political discourse around Truss’s tenure.
And now, the BFI National Archive is immortalising the lettuce as part of its drive to bring 400 significant pieces of British online moving image content into its National collection.
As part of the BFI National Archive’s 90th birthday celebration, this new digital collection will trace the technological advancements in online moving images - with the work they are selecting, such as the lettuce, having entertained, inspired or struck a chord over the last 30 years with audiences, reflecting the stories of Britain in the digital age.
Currently, the BFI is collecting the footage as a preservation project and are working to make the collection accessible to audiences now and in the future.
Ben Rankin, Daily Star editor-in-chief, said: “When people talk about the Daily Star, they talk about the lettuce; and that is still the case, it hasn’t left public consciousness.
“So three years to the day since Liz Truss resigned, it is testament to the impact a 60p Tesco lettuce had that it sits alongside other viral moments such as Charlie Bit My Finger and Badgers in this fantastic pioneering project.
“At the Daily Star, we have always had a unique way of covering big stories. We tell the news with a wink and we are always on the lookout for the next viral lettuce.”
Ellie Groom, BFI national archive curator, said: “The Daily Star's video livestream was a seminal moment in British political history and in the story of online moving image.
“It was a brilliantly conceived satirical stunt that went viral and beyond, and over the course of a few short days as pressure mounted on Liz Truss to resign, it had a real influence.
“The BFI National Archive are so thrilled to preserve it to try and retroactively understand the scale and impact of the livestream as it happened. Our skills and resource will ensure that every hour of the lettuce stream is preserved for future generations to look back at this significant moment in online moving image history.
“The BFI National Archive collects hours of daily news off-air from Freeview channels, and now we have the original online sensation that broadcast newscasters were all talking about in October 2022.”
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