Food in Advertising

The following is a guest article by Adele Hagan, a professional food stylist from Canada

We've all heard the urban legends about food styling: mashed potatoes are used instead of ice cream, spray lacquer is used to shine food up, and practically everything is painted with food colouring. But are the stories true? And even if they are, is that wrong?

100 Calorie packs are great for portion control - but the excessive price of these packs is not so great.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest has compared the costs of 100 Calorie packs against the bigger portions and found price increases of over 200%.

If you own a diet book, it probably contains some beautiful pictures to go with all those "mouthwatering recipes".

Ads, cookbook covers, and fast food menus also display lovingly crafted food creations.

They are the work of a food stylist.

If you ever wanted proof that advertising influences children... this is it.

Researchers asked children to taste the same foods - some in plain wrappers, and some in McDonald's wrappers.

In about 60 per cent of the tastings, the kids preferred food in the McDonald's wrapper.

Blogger Jeff Kay has taken a few photos comparing fast food as advertised - with the actual item as served.

The Kaiser Family Foundation has undertaken the largest study ever of TV food advertising to children.

Here are the salient details.

It's time for sensible thinking people everywhere to raise their hands and call it like it is. The new "genre" of weight-control foods can only be described as the height of silliness.

Our shopping aisles are filled with bright colorful boxes claiming to solve all of life's ills. But you know what?

The emperor has no clothes on.

Towards the end of last year - a whole line of Kellogg's "protein-enhanced" foods started appearing on shelves. The growth of the beverage industry never ceases to amaze me.

Kellogg's K20 water contains just 5 grams of protein in a 16oz bottle. Along with that you get 8 grams of sugar (plus some Splenda) - all for $1.50 per drink.

"You can feel it. Thicker. You can taste it. Juicier."

That's how a McDonald's ad reads in China. In an attempt to make the Chinese eat more beef burgers, McDonald's are pushing their food as a virility enhancer - among other things.

When it comes to food temptation - we are not all on a level playing field. Some new research published in the Journal of Neuroscience concludes that "in humans, sensitivity to reward can vary significantly from one person to the next".

Walt Disney Co are about to end a 10 year long relationship with McDonald's. No more movie toys in the Happy Meals, no more cute Nemo pictures. One reason, say high-ranking sources at Disney, is that the company that prides itself on being family friendly wants to distance itself from fast food and its links to the epidemic of childhood obesity.

An audit of the 25 biggest food companies has shown that they are doing little to improve diets. "Their performance is by and large pathetic," said Tim Lang... "The companies that appear to be doing the most are the ones under intense pressure because their product ranges are the unhealthiest, but there is a whiff of desperation about what they are doing rather than long-term commitment to better food."Should we act surprised? These are businesses pursuing their bottom line and maintaining a ridiculous pretence of offering healthy foods.

Every time I drive past my local KFC outlet, I always joke about how they must have huge fans installed. How else do they pump that distinctive and addictive aroma out into the neighborhood? Thanks to some research by the Chicago Tribune, maybe these kind of conspiracy theories aren't so improbable.