Standard: Marketing, Packaging and Advertising

The Cost of Food Advertising

To capture the interest of the consumer, food producers spend billions of dollars each year on advertising and packaging, both for food bought in grocery stores and for restaurants. Between 1990 and 2000, marketing costs rose 57% while the farm value of food purchases climbed only 16 percent. Advertising expenditures alone have risen 52% during this same time period. In the last 10 years the amount of money spent on marketing food to children has increased from 7 billion to 15 billion. In America, children may view anywhere between 20,000 ' 40,000 commercials each year.

These additional costs are passed on to the consumer. Foods that arrive in bright colored packages veering the faces of famous Disney characters may seem cheap. However, with the use of processed foods, artificial additives and preservatives, manufacturers are able to pay more for marketing and less for the actual food, thus keeping the overall cost down. What you pay for is a nutritionally poor product in a fancy box.

Popular advertising techniques include:

Bandwagon: gives the impression that everyone is using this product or doing this activity. Advertisers hope that people will buy their products to avoid feeling left out.

Brand Loyalty: portrays a group of people who are loyal users of a product and would not consider switching to another brand; tells consumers that this brand is the best.

Testimonial (Celebrity Appeal): a famous person/cartoon is used to endorse a product.

Feel Good Appeal: you will feel better or stronger or smarter if you eat our product.

Over Generalizing: exaggerates the benefits of the product.

Reward Appeal: you receive a gift or a prize if you buy the product.

Beauty: you are attracted to the bright colorful packaging.

 

Marketing Foods in School

Currently there are no federal restrictions in the USA regulating the advertising and marketing of food products. Large snack food companies are promoting themselves in vending machines, as well as on scoreboards and even in textbooks.

Sweden, Norway, Austria and Luxembourg have banned television advertising to children and school-based marketing has been banned in Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Portugal and Vietnam. In Ireland television commercials for candy and fast foods are banned and wrappers must carry warnings that fast food should be eaten in moderation.

In January 2005, The Center of Science in the Public Interest published its own "guidelines for responsible food marketing to children" and sent them to officials at major food companies, chain restaurants, television networks, television stations in the 50 largest markets, movie studios, supermarkets, and children's magazines. They are being urged to comply on a voluntary basis. These guidelines suggest that companies:

1. No longer market low nutrition drinks like soda, sports drinks to children;
2. No longer market large potion sizes, foods high in fat and added sugar to children;
3. No longer use advertising techniques that promote low nutrition foods to children.

In June 2004 President Bush signed into law the Child Nutrition and WIC reauthorization Act which will require local school boards to adopt wellness policies that promote health by September 2006. These policies must include nutrition guidelines for foods and beverages sold or served to children at school.

Prepared for HealthTeacher by Lisa Ford