As much as I hate to admit it, like most people, I find myself falling victim to advertisements and food commercials, in particular, tend to be my weakness. I recall one day, I was watching television in the mid-afternoon with some friends and a commercial for Olive Garden came on the screen. We all made the usual murmurings about how good the food looked and then—even through it was nowhere near mealtime nor were we hungry before the commercial—we proceeded to get in the car and drive to the nearest Olive Garden. This was about four years ago and moment stands out in my mind when I realized how much power a well-designed commercial has on me.
Food is often a central theme of advertisements. While food-like products tend to dominate the programming, other commercials incorporate food in them as well. It is a relatable subject and can draw in nearly everyone on some level; everyone relies on food, but for consumers who have the time to sit and watch television, it is often a matter of choosing what food to eat or in today’s world, what processed substance to consume. We are constantly inundated with advertisements and products that will offer us the access to the sought after life of luxury and ease. Why would we consider if we intake all our needed nutrients in our meals, when we can pop a supplemental pill or prepared boxes of food-like substances shipped to our doorstep that promises better results than real food. Commercials and advertisements tell us what we need, so we do not have to think for our selves.
The oxymoronic tendencies of some commercials can only be described as disgustingly clever. The message often portrayed is a misconception at best, if not a complete lie, that is presented to the public as absolute truth. It would be hysterical, if it were not such a serious matter that the majority does not realize the truth behind the advertisements. A recent commercial promoting the three top soft-drink companies: Coke, Pepsi, and Dr. Pepper, announces the new movement to integrate soda with fewer calories in schools. The soda companies have found a way to weasel their way into schools to sell to children (who should not drink soda in the first place) with the message that it is now a healthier option. I can only speculate that they teamed up to enter the schools and will follow-this with campaigns against each other to show who is in fact the healthiest.
Other companies also follow in this path, wanting to prove that they too can follow the trend of healthy eating and living. McDonalds, for example, often in their commercials emphasize the need for fruits and vegetables to the point that sometimes it is unclear that it is even a McDonalds’ advertisement until the very end when the golden arches pop up. They portray themselves as a healthy restaurant, so consumers think they have healthy options when they go, however, once one enters the actual store, they will most likely feel themselves overwhelmed by the smell of fried food, the thought of the fresh salad from the commercial the day before has become a distant memory.
Very rarely does one see a public service announcement with an informational focus on eating with facts behind the message. Often dominating commercials focus on processed food with claims of health benefits. There are countless examples of this, but one that stands out in my mind is the commercial for Special K. The company now offers not only cereal, but also drinks, and snack bars. The advertisement claims that consumers will lose weight by eating Special K, though it is still unclear to me how this claim is supported. Does it mean that if you eat Special K as a snack you will lose weight? Or is the real message that if you only eat Special K you will lose weight (and probably become very ill)? Regardless of the truth behind the advertisement, it seems to work as I have had friends tell me they in the context of their diet they are eating Special K. The truth behind commercials is acknowledged to be a stretch and while it may be the case that the public will generally agree if pressed, often during the moment of viewing we do not question the validity of the subject.
Today, the professionals who design the advertisements are very good at what they do, but not only in the actual advertisements, but in the integration of the programming as well. Commercials also change depending on the targeted audience, the time of day and the program. During the day, commercials are longer and tend to be on the infomercial side. The focus of daytime television advertisements often is centered on supplements or weight-loss systems. In my experience, when I watch daytime television during the week it is because I am home sick and have nothing else to do, and therefore my focus is already on the show and the commercials, so the advertisements do not have to need to draw me in. The prime time television advertisements are shorter, catchier, and the item or subject is already popular, so the commercials are entertainment rather than informational. Usually the focus of food advertisements is on the convenience, the savings, and compares well-known brands. When I watch evening television, I am usually with my friends and more likely to talk during the commercials, therefore the advertisements need to be more appealing and distracting. The advertisements shown during late night television are always louder than the programming, so if the viewer has dozed off during the show, they are more likely to stir during the commercials. The food commercials show the appeal of food, often focused on fast food and take out restaurants. An audience watching television at night is more likely to fall victim to the commercials, succumb to the late night munchies and order that mouth-watering pizza shown on the screen.
I often get frustrated when I think about the influence commercials have on the purchasing decision of the general public. We are surrounded by advertisements nearly at all times and we come home and turn on the television to make it easier for the companies to get to us. It makes me cringe when I think about the amount time everyday we expose ourselves to capitalistic advertising, drenched in the same message of consumption. Even when we do not have a particular interest in the item, a good commercial is often a subject of conversation or discussion in a group of peers. How often do you hear, “Oh, I just watch it for the commercials” when referring to the Super-bowl? It is tradition to gather round the television, with obscene amounts of consumables and watch the commercials. Commercials are a seemingly non-controversial subject of conversation, and therefore they are “safe” to share and discuss. The most disturbing aspect of this is we all spend so much time watching, discussing, and thinking about commercials and we are either knowingly or unknowingly discussing the products that are advertised to us. Wendell Berry points out in his essay titled, “The Pleasures of Eating” in his collection, What Are People For? (1990), that responsible eating is freedom (147), but how free are we really when it comes to our choices if we are told what to consume on a regular basis? I do not have a scientific answer, but on a regular basis, I have to say that we are not always free when it comes to the decision of: “What’s for dinner?”
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