TV Analysis for Food Products

TV Analysis for Food Products

Observations of one hour of television: Food advertising

While watching an hour of "The Martha Stewart Show" I noted many food-based television advertisements. Some of them directly catered to the demographic of the show and the types of lifestyles depicted on the show. For example, Macy's department store advertised a number of blenders, food processers, and other, similar items aimed at women with families they have to feed. This target demographic presumably wished to live the 'Martha' lifestyle shown in the advertisement. However, not all of the advertisements depicted the 'Martha' lifestyle. For example, there was an advertisement for Hormel prepared meals. The advertisement depicted a family sitting down to dinner, and the voice-over advised the female target of the advertisement that after a busy day women could still feed their family a full meal by just heating up some Hormel. The Hormel advertisement clearly reflected the 'felt' needs as well as the aspirational needs of the demographic.

The presence of children in the lives of many of Martha's audience members and the need for women to cook for their families is also reflected in an advertisement for Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, the "cheesiest," which shows happy children consuming the product with delight. The image of the familiar but easy-to-prepare comfort food may clash with the message of the Martha show's emphasis on cooking from scratch, but not necessarily the larger buying habits of the audience. Convenience rather than creating cuisine is the priority of Kraft ads. Adult tastes are given less of a priority than suiting the palate of children. Nutrition is paid homage to, but only in the sense of giving a family a starch, protein, and vegetable on a plate in the Hormel TV dinner advertisement.

One ad that occurred towards the end of the show, a Domino's Pizza advertisement, seemed to clash with the demographic of the other advertisement. However, the cheapness of Domino's many specials enables a mother to feed a large family quickly.