Food Advertising Follows a Strict Code of Conduct
Food advertising shapes our preferences. They influence what we buy and eat and can even impact our long-term health. This is especially true in Australia, where a competitive food market uses every avenue to grab our attention.
Studies have shown a clear link between ad exposure and consumer behaviour, particularly among children. The lure of sugary drinks, fast food, and highly processed snacks had been difficult to resist, especially when presented in a fun, light-hearted way.
The Australian Advertising Standards Bureau enforces a strict code governing food and beverage advertising to ensure truthfulness and prevent tactics that undermine healthy lifestyles. Yet, the debate continues – is this enough to counter the powerful influence of food marketing?
Food Advertising Psychology
Food advertising isn’t just visuals of delicious meals. It’s carefully crafted and designed to play on our emotions, eventually leading to cravings, making them very effective.
Emotional connections
Food ads use emotions like happiness, nostalgia, and comfort to create a positive association with a product.
Imagine a heartwarming scene of a family enjoying a steaming plate of pasta or a picnic in a picturesque landscape with refreshing drinks.
These sensory details and familiar settings trigger positive memories and emotions to make the audience subconsciously link them to the advertised food, and the emotional connection fuels the desire to recreate that feeling by consuming the product.
Sensory psychology
Food ads also employ psychological triggers to stimulate our appetite and create a sense of urgency.
The use of the colour red, for instance, is not a preference. Researchers have found that red increases appetite. This is especially advantageous because it can be found in nature – red is seen in ripeness and sweetness when seen in foods like berries, tomatoes, and more.
Other psychological tactics include close-up shots of mouthwatering textures and fast edits that lead to gratification to signal “eat this now.”
Scarcity tactics like limited-time offers further also amplify this, and the audience begins to feel like they will miss out if they don’t act fast.
These techniques bypass our rational thinking and trigger a primal urge to consume.
Building Brand Identity
Food brands build recognition and loyalty by creating a consistent brand identity through visuals, music, and messaging. Think of the catchy jingles that get stuck in your head. Mascots, décor, and even staff uniforms all play a part in a restaurant’s brand positioning.
This consistency creates a sense of familiarity and trust, making the brand a go-to choice when a craving hits. Some of the more popular tactics to make larger food brands more effective include:
Descriptive Product Naming: choosing names that evoke positive associations and highlight unique selling points is super effective in marketing. In today’s very careful and cautious consumer lifestyle, terms like “grass-fed and organic produce,” “hearty, home-style chicken noodle soup,” and “award-winning recipes” are used to cater to different target markets. Making potential customer more likely to purchase the product as it addresses their desires to be healthy or their expectation of better quality and tasting food options.
Storytelling and Brand Voice: Crafting a brand narrative that resonates with the target audience and conveys the brand’s values and personality. Brands utilise creative taglines, commercial storytelling elements, and social media messaging.
Food Advertising Using Digital Marketing
Social media has become a vibrant marketplace and effective platform for businesses to start their digital marketing strategy. Food brands can connect with consumers and build brand loyalty. Most importantly, it expanded the tactics marketers use to advertise their brands.
Recipe sharing and user generated content (UGCs) has become one of the most effective ways to attract potential customers to your food brand. It is considered the ultimate lead magnet as it sparks your audiences’ interests and creativity.
Sharing delicious recipes featuring your products, then empowering your audience to recreate them at home creates a vibrant community around your brand, fostering a sense of engagement and loyalty. You can also run contests and challenges to encourage followers to share their culinary creations using your products.
Partnering with food influencers by collaborating with chefs and social media personalities who resonate with your target demographic will help you move beyond simple endorsements – you can work together on recipe development, product reviews, or live cooking demonstrations.
McDonald’s has done this with their celebrity menus and has collaborated with big names to develop meal pairings and exclusive sauces. Some celebrities they worked with included Mariah Carey, Cardi B, and BTS. Renowned chocolate brand Ferrero Rocher partnered with Masterchef Australia finalist Reynold Poernomo for a Christmas promo.
Partnering with these trusted voices adds authenticity and credibility to McDonald’s brand message.
Interactive Food Ads
Interactive food ads invite consumers to participate, boosting engagement and brand recall.
Imagine food quizzes testing your taste bud knowledge, polls gauging preferences for new product ideas, or augmented reality (AR) experiences that let you virtually “place” a pizza on your dining table to see how it looks before you buy it.
Häagen-Dazs “Flavor Remixer” campaign is a good example. It allowed users to virtually mix and match different Häagen-Dazs ice cream flavours and toppings to create their own custom combinations.
Users shared their creations on social media, promoting the brand to experiment with flavours.
These playful and informative features transform consumers from viewers into active participants, allowing them to foster a deeper connection with the brand.
Experiential Marketing
Interactive experiences that bring your brand directly to consumers.
Pop-up events allow people to sample your offerings and engage with brand representatives. Mobile food trucks bring your signature dishes or unique culinary creations to festivals, farmers’ markets, or college campuses.
These fun and accessible activations create lasting memories, associating your brand with positive experiences.
Personalised Marketing
By analysing user data and interests, brands can tailor advertising and promotions to individual preferences.
This could involve targeted recipe suggestions based on dietary restrictions, exclusive discounts on favourite products, or personalised loyalty programs gamified with challenges and badges.
One of the most popular gamification programs is the Starbucks rewards program, which utilises points, tiers, and rewards, keeping customers engaged and motivated to make further purchases to climb the reward ladder.
By catering to individual tastes, brands create a more meaningful connection with consumers, making them feel valued and encouraging repeat purchases.
Food Advertising and Legal Considerations:
Australian food ads thrive on creativity but must also adhere to regulations and ethical considerations. Here’s a breakdown of key aspects to keep in mind:
Truth in Labelling (Australian Consumer Law)
The Australian Consumer Law (ACL) mandates that ads be truthful and provide accurate information about the product in food advertising.
This includes claims about ingredients, origin, nutritional content, and health benefits.
The ACL further prohibits misleading or deceptive advertising, like vague statements or imagery that don’t accurately reflect the products.
For instance, in 2018, Heinz was hit with a $2.25 million fine for misleading consumers about their “Little Kids Shredz” snacks. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) took legal action because the packaging, plastered with images of fruits and vegetables and boasting “99% fruit and veg,” implied the snacks were healthy for toddlers.
However, they found that this is not true. The ACCC argued that the snacks contained a whopping 60% sugar, making them more candy than a healthy snack. The judge pointed out that this high sugar content violated Australian Consumer Law (ACL) as it misled parents about the product’s nutritional value.
Health Claims (Food Standards Australia New Zealand)
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) regulates health claims in food ads. Any claims about health or well-being must be substantiated by strong scientific evidence.
FSANZ provides detailed guidelines on acceptable health claims to ensure they are clear, truthful, and don’t mislead consumers about the product’s potential benefits.
A study revealed a concerning trend in food advertising: Over 40% of menu items advertised as “healthy” by fast-food restaurants might be misleading consumers.
For instance, Chipotle claimed that its Pulled Pork Wrap is “low-energy, low-salt.” However, it was found that the wrap contained more than four times the allowed amount of energy and sodium per serving.
Another example is the “immunity-boosting” Green Tea Mango Mantra. While the name implies health benefits, the drink falls short of established nutritional guidelines. Not only does it fail to meet the criteria for a healthy beverage, but it also contains between 17 and 23 teaspoons of sugar per serving, more than the recommended daily sugar intake for most adults.
Targeting Children (Australian Association of National Advertisers)
Directing food marketing directly towards children raises ethical concerns due to their vulnerability to persuasive advertising tactics.
The Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) has a Code of Ethics with specific guidelines on child-targeted advertising that discourage manipulative techniques, exploitative language, and the portrayal of unhealthy eating habits in child-focused ads.
The AANA Code of Ethics also encourages responsible marketing practices and can be used to address complaints regarding exploitative child-focused advertising.
Alcohol and Drug Consumption (Therapeutic Goods Administration)
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) regulates advertising for products containing alcohol or controlled substances. They posit that ads should focus on the product (e.g., a specific beer brand) rather than promoting excessive alcohol consumption.
If alcohol is depicted, it should be portrayed in a setting that promotes responsible enjoyment, like with a meal or during a social event. Moreover, health claims for alcoholic beverages are prohibited unless specifically approved by the TGA.
Great Examples of Food Advertising Campaigns (Case Studies)
Snickers – “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry”
Snickers’ “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” campaign is a global phenomenon lauded for its relatable humour and memorable tagline. The campaign features scenarios where people act out of character due to hunger, often portrayed by celebrities. A colleague becomes overly critical, a patient athlete loses their cool, or a loving spouse becomes grumpy – all situations humorously explained by the tagline “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry. Grab a Snickers”
This campaign’s success lies in its universality. Hunger pangs manifest in crankiness and irritability, experiences everyone can relate to. The campaign uses humour to connect with audiences globally, regardless of cultural background.
By tapping into this relatable human emotion and offering a solution (Snickers), the campaign creates a lasting impact and positions Snickers as a quick fix for hunger-induced meltdowns.
Kit Kat Japan – “Have a Break, Have a Kit Kat”
Kit Kat’s “Have a Break, Have a Kit Kat” campaign has taken on a unique life in Japan. The original campaign, emphasising a short break with a Kit Kat, resonated with Japanese work culture where long hours and few breaks are common.
However, the Japanese market took it a step further. They created a series of quirky commercials featuring a salaryman character (“Kit Kat Man”) encountering surreal scenarios during his breaks. These commercials, often featuring stop-motion animation and wordplay, became cultural touchstones, further associating Kit Kat with the idea of a well-deserved break.
The success of this campaign lies in its cultural adaptation. While maintaining the core message of taking a break, the Japanese ads tapped into local sensibilities and humour. The quirky commercials resonated with viewers and solidified Kit Kat’s position as a reward for a well-earned break within Japanese work culture.
Häagen-Dazs – “Ice Cream of Ice Creams”
The Häagen-Dazs “Ice Cream of Ice Creams” ad utilises a strategic blend of psychological techniques to position its product as the ultimate indulgence. The ad bombards viewers’ senses with slow-motion shots of rich textures and vibrant colours, creating a visual symphony that triggers desire. Soothing music adds a touch of luxury, further associating Häagen-Dazs with a peaceful and exclusive experience.
The ad leverages social proof by portraying a woman enjoying Häagen-Dazs in a luxurious setting, making it appear aspirational. Scarcity is introduced with the tagline “Ice Cream of Ice Creams,” hinting at a limited-edition product and playing on the fear of missing out. Nostalgia is also evoked through slow-motion melting ice cream, potentially triggering positive childhood memories and a sense of comfort associated with the brand.
By combining these techniques, Häagen-Dazs goes beyond simply showcasing the product. They craft an emotional connection, position their ice cream as a premium indulgence, and trigger positive brand associations. This persuasive approach effectively targets viewers’ desires and positions Häagen-Dazs as the go-to choice for a luxurious ice cream experience.
Food Advertising for the Australian Audience
Food advertising makes it necessary for businesses to tap into emotions like nostalgia, joy, or togetherness to create a memorable experience and pair it with visually stunning food shots and mouthwatering sounds. When put together, these can trigger desire and encourage viewers to try the product.
With an understanding of the consumer landscape and employing effective strategies within the rule of law, we can help you create campaigns that resonate with audiences, drive sales, and solidify your brand in the competitive Australian market. Contact us today.
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