2018 Food Trend #7 - Advertising

Advertising should inform and get people to buy – and to tell the truth especially about our foods and nutrition. Today people want a connection with the foods they eat, they want to know where they came from and if we can, use advertising to empower them to eat healthier we have achieved success.

David Ogilvy wrote: “The creative process requires more than reason. Most original thinking isn't even verbal. It requires 'a groping experimentation with ideas, governed by intuitive hunches and inspired by the unconscious.' The majority of business men are incapable of original thinking because they are unable to escape from the tyranny of reason. Their imaginations are blocked.” 

The Muppets’ Cookie Monster has a new cooking show and is focused on where food comes from. He and his sidekick Gonger embark on journeys to show where food comes and source the ingredients. Anthony Bourdain for kids if you will – a food segment which offers great promise in teaching our kids where our foods come from.

The ad rules have changed since David Ogilvy and Della Femina’s halcyon days. We now have our iPhones and Social Media.

But most CPG and Retail brands are not taking full advantage. Only 27% of brands engaged in storytelling and are mostly ignoring Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube.

The reality is that 3X the amount of people trust word of mouth more than they do online ads.

GHERLIN is the hunger hormone. It tells us when we are hungry. In the 2011 study “mind over milkshakes” researchers found that when people THOUGHT they were drinking shakes high in calories,

 the level dropped 3X more than when they thought they were drinking a shake with zero fat, no added sugars and was low in calories.

Another study found that when people ate the same food and the same size portion – but one was labeled snack and the other was labeled as a meal – the people who had the snack version ate 50% more.

It’s how we communicate our food messages, especially when it comes to nutrition issues that make the difference. No calorie sodas, sugar free gums and gluten-free apples are all examples. What we BELIEVE matters in how much, and what we consume.

Social, social, social

Video content is key and powerful and the most engaging content on Facebook

And lucky for us, food is #1 by far.

And Facebook LIVE is an important advertising tool to engage with. For Martha Stewart it brought her relevancy to an entirely new consumer base. 

The biggest trend I expect to see in advertising in 2018 build on the fervor we are seeing all around us and it’s all about “the truth.” It started with amateur videos, some undercover, and now moves forward. Here is a snippet from one food ad that is very effective in getting the truth out there.

And there will be more to come.

For all 10 Trends, watch the Full Video HERE