Straight American Food

These ads convey two of the most Americanized food products, McDonald’s sandwiches and Heinz ketchup. Both could be considered staples of an average American diet and the ads reflect centralized values of American society, health and knowledge. Appealing to a person’s identity can be one of the strongest marketing strategies. McDonalds and Heinz employ this by relating to who the viewers think they are or who they want to be. Primarily these ads convey the impression that if you are smart you eat McDonalds and if you are healthy you use Ketchup.

I stumbled upon the ketchup ad while searching the internet and it immediately caught my eye. It has a simple and elegant design that highlights the partially eaten tomato occupying dead center. Beneath the vibrant green and red it reads “No Sin” and “more tomatoes less sugar”. This print ad is directed towards consumers who are health conscious, but not ready to give up their favorite brand of ketchup. Product recognition is very important for generating sales and Heinz Fit Ketchup, still has the brand name but is supposed to be healthier than original ketchup. The irony is that ketchup is not a part of a healthy diet, but can be made to look the part by labeling it “fit”. Food advertisers use other words like “skinny” or “slim” to the same effect. Similar to the McDonalds ad, the actual brand they are trying to sell occupies only a small portion of the area, overshadowed by a graphic designed to capture your attention. This is a benefit of being a multi-national chain; McDonalds and Heinz are already recognizable companies and don’t have to devote the whole ad to emphasizing their brand.

The McDonalds ad I chose employs very interesting imagery. I chose it because it is very different that most fast food ads I have seen. It is not emphasizing health or product quality as is usually the case with fast food.  A hamburger is stylized as a stack of different books each cleverly colored and named to match an ingredient. A cursive M occupies the lower left and on the bottom it reads, “A sandwich for experts”. Through this ad McDonalds is conveying the message that “experts” eat McDonald’s sandwiches and if you are an “expert” you should too. This ad throws the common conception of McDonalds on its head. It tries to portray a sophisticated image of the golden arches, despite the fact that many American’s would never associate sophistication and McDonalds. In today’s highly stratified society, education is directly equated with success. This ad successfully appeals to an audience who yearn to feel “educated” or “smart”. Both this and the Heinz ad rely on the premise that if you use this product you will feel better about yourself.  The designer of this ad also chose the font to match the theme of intelligence. Using cursive evokes imagery of the upper-class and elegance as oppose to the mundane or regular of print.

These ads speak volumes about food cultures and values in America. The “fitness” value can be seen in almost every food isle today.  Americans place great value in foods that are supposed to be healthier. Labels such as “0-trans fat” and “less than 100 calories” are commonplace. Most Americans do not know what trans-fat is and can’t differentiate between simple and complex carbs.  They place their trust in the product and assume that it simply must be better because that’s what the packaging says. The irony is that most of the products that rely on “health advertising” are the very foods a health-conscious eater would avoid. You never see labels on lettuce or fruit telling you how healthy they are. This kind of marketing is so prevalent today because it is so successful. Everyone wants to be fit, but not everyone wants to give up Heinz ketchup.

By analyzing ads a consumer can see deep into a company. How they wish to be seen, who they market to, and most importantly what value their products hold. You can also peer into society’s food culture and values and how companies employ these to entice customers. Heinz and McDonalds are food giants in America and these two ads show they are experts at appealing to consumer’s identity. As long as there are people who believe that “experts” eat at McDonalds and that Heinz’s new ketchup is “fit” then ads like these will keep showing up and will keep being successful.