In a nation that takes its food very seriously, creating compelling advertising has the power to make a significant difference to the fortunes of food brands. In this article, Rajeev Sharma takes a look at the human and sensorial side of food advertising to bring out five commonsense tips that food advertisers can draw on to produce world-class advertising. Honest bread is very well but it is the butter that makes the temptation.
This quote by playwright Douglas Jerrold, sums up the role of food advertising. Left to itself, food would remain a panacea for the biological state that we recognize as hunger. Like other living forms, we would eat when we are hungry and stop eating after our hunger was satisfied. But the fact is that we don't, our present-day behavior vis-à-vis food is very little ruled by actual physiological hunger or thirst.
We buy chocolates for a variety of reasons apart from hunger - to gift, to seduce, to fight boredom, to bond, as an apology after a fight, and so on. Some of the foods we consume are foods that we don't even like in the first instance, yet we persist till the taste grows on us. Many people don't like their first sip of alcohol, yet they continue consuming it brushing aside health warnings en route, till they cultivate a taste for it. The truth is that over a period of time, food advertisers have successfully managed to make us develop non-physiological consumption craving that makes us reach out for food. We reach out for cookies when we see milk; for chips when we're watching a movie, etc. That's the power of food advertising. |
