Commercials in general sense is not a very new concept. "Commercials" is a part and parcel of advertisement and marketing strategy that help to promote the brand and the product, improve the reach, establish recognition in larger geographical areas, improve the popularity quotient and generate greater leads and sales. No industry has refrained itself from enjoying the benefits of branding, marketing and advertising themselves. Hence, food and beverages industry is no exception. Commercials have become a job profession in itself. Teams are built and set up to chalk down the scripts for the commercials, discuss ideas, exchange point of views, laydown the complete structure, develop a blue print, and much more. Exposure to visual aids in any sense can have a strong impact on the minds of the consumers. And thus, food commercials are a way to inject into the minds of the ones exposed to the same. Not just that, exposure to commercials in this regard can influence the eating habits, taste, preferences and choices of individuals, especially children.
McDonald's is one of the greatest examples. McDonald's has successfully understood the nerves of its consumers (which are largely children) and, therefore, have planned and executed its commercials in the desired manner. Offering a prize that one cannot deny is what has been the strategy of McDonald's. As a result, the happy meal has become one of the most ordered menu items since the commercials claim to give away a toy to children with this food item. According to a recent study conducted and published by the American Psychological Association, youngsters are drawn to eat 45% more after being exposed to food ads or food commercials, irrespective of the fact that they are hungry or not. To understand the importance of commercials for the food and beverages industry, a deeper look on the causes is discussed as below:
- Population- It comes as no shock that the global population is rising. In this race of rising population, China and India dominate the top two positions in the world. By growing at a rate of 1.10% per year, it is estimated that the global population would reach 8.6 billion, 9.8 billion and 11.2 billion in 2030, 2050 and 2100, respectively. As of today, there are 2.2 billion children on earth and counting. Children are easily attracted to food advertisements, which can trigger their demands ahead of their parents or caretakers. Since, there is a direct relationship between rising population and food demand, therefore, it acts as an opportunity for the marketing and advertising industry to fuel up the number of food commercials or food advertisements on daily basis.
- Income- Rising personal disposable income of people, especially living in the developing regions of the world, indicates a rise in individuals' spending capacity. In other words, increasing income directly relates to the increased spending of individuals on food items. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, in 2020, the consumers in US spent an average of 8.6% of their personal disposable income on food.
Calorie availability and importance of food in household spending
High economy nations, for example, the United States and the United Kingdom have higher food spending in outright terms, however, the portion of family utilization consumptions pertaining to at-home food is low-under 10%. In Kenya and other low-pay nations, the at-home food's portion of consumption expenditure can surpass 50%. Per capita calorie follows the converse example. As indicated by the latest accessible information, U.S. per capita calorie was among the most noteworthy at 3,682 calories each day, while Kenya's was assessed at just 2,206 calories.
- Awareness- Commercials are important for the food and beverages industry as they help the population aware of a certain consumable product. Commercials or advertisements deliver information about the product, its ingredients, its nutritional content, its availability via different channels, its cost, and much more. In culmination with the awareness, food commercials and advertisements help establish and promote brand loyalty among the consumers. By creating food trends, these commercials influence the food buying and consuming habits, create link between the brand and the consumer, and finally develop brand loyalty in their minds, forcing them to consume the same product and of the same brand again and again.
- Feedback- Food commercials and advertisements are not just about introducing a particular food product in the market, promoting its reach and awareness and generating a loyal customer base. It is about understanding the final customer base's tastes, preferences, choices, habits, and background. Not every product may work in every territory or region. Let's take an example of KFC, one of the world's biggest and largest food franchises. KFC in Japan mirrors the local inclination for dull and dark meat over white meat, and serves rice bowls and bento boxes recognizable to Japanese purchasers. Therefore, the food commercials are laid down keeping in mind such ethnicity of the region. KFC Japan has a strong game of branding, advertising and marketing. They offer and run commercials for all you-can-eat chicken throughout the late spring at selected areas. On the other hand, KFC's first endeavor to venture into the Indian market struggled during the 1990s, before relaunching in 2004, KFC India embraced an original technique to draw in locale by growing their veggie lover menu choices in 2012. Food items such as Veg Zinger, Paneer Zinger, Potato Krisper Burger, and Hot Veg Snacker planned to catch India's sizable vegetarian market and allure non-veggie lovers with their wide assortment. Up to 42% of Indian families are a veggie lovers. In 2016, the organization returned to a chicken-driven technique and picked to advance their new chicken things while leaving the advertising for their veggie lover things. Hence, during their introduction of vegetarian items in the Indian market, KFC extensively run food commercials and advertisements in order to promote their newly introduced vegetarian products.
What is the problem with food commercials pertaining to child obesity?
Food commercials have always been misleading especially when it comes to the appearance of the food product. A burger that looks so juicy, heavy and full of ingredients in the commercial is not the same when one holds it in hand in reality. The major problem with the food commercials is that they directly and indirectly both, promote child obesity. Food commercials and advertisements can be held responsible for promoting unhealthy eating habits in children. And overweight and obesity is one of its results. In recent years, obesity in children has emerged as an epidemic, which has had serious consequences on the morbidity, economic, and mortality quotients. Obesity is a public health problem wherein an individual turns overweight, thereby inviting numerous diseases and disorders to the body. Over the last twenty five years, the number of obese children has significantly multiplied due to various reasons, one of which is the negative impact of commercials and advertisements on various platforms that promote unhealthy food items and target the children. Studies have shown that kids invest a ton of energy-consuming various media that expose them to commercials that market unhealthy food varieties. For instance, media stages that incorporate radio, TV, and the web are flooded with commercials and advertisements that market non-nutritious and unhealthy food sources that are related with weight. To protect the children against such misleading commercials, it is important to boycott food advertisements since they unfavorably affect youngsters' food inclinations, consumption, and buying patterns. Obesity in children can give rise to numerous other problems such as:
- Heart problems- Obesity in children or obesity at a very young age affects the heart's health. Obesity, as a result of the consumption of unhealthy and junk food, elevates the level of bad cholesterol in the body which can be risky for the consumer. Obesity increases the blood pressure in the body and high blood pressure is a common reason for heart attacks. Obese individuals require greater oxygen to pump the blood in the entire body. However, being overweight results in the deposition of fatty material building up in the arteries, which restricts the flow of blood. Clogged and blocked arteries too result in giving heart attacks. Body Mass Index (BMI) becomes a standard in such cases. BMI is used to calculate a person's height and weight, which determines whether a person is overweight or underweight. However, it is less accurate in cases of athletes and geriatric population base owing to the low muscle mass but is a good determinant in children. By calculating BMI, children falling in the range of obesity or overweight are high at risk of developing heart-related issues.
- Diabetes- Obesity leads to hampering the mental health of an individual and degrading the quality of life. Obesity becomes the root cause of diabetes which is a life-threatening illness. Diabetes is a condition of excess sugar or glucose in the body. The signs and symptoms of diabetes in children include fatigue, fruity-smelling breath, extreme hunger, frequent urination (possibly bed wetting in the potty trained child), increased thirst and irritating behavioral changes among others. Junk food items are high in saturated fats and trans fats, which can raise levels of triglycerides, a sort of fat that is available in the blood. Elevated degrees of fatty oils increment the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
With the rising availability of homecare medical devices, there is a huge demand for diabetes care management medical devices. Data Bridge Market Research took the liberty to study the global diabetes care devices market. The diabetes care devices market size is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8.2% over the forecast period of 2022 to 2029. The market is segmented on the basis of product and end-user. Merck & Co., Inc., AstraZeneca, and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited are some of the major players operating in the market.
- Sedentary lifestyle- One of the elements that is generally fundamentally connected to obesity is unhealthy lifestyle in children. Television seeing among small kids and teenagers has expanded decisively in ongoing years. The expanded measure of time spent in sedentary ways of behaving has diminished how much time is spent in active work. Studies indicate the hours children spend sitting in front of the TV consuming the most promoted merchandise, including cereals, desserts, improved refreshments, and pungent snacks. Obesity is said to have an overall impact on an individual's social, mental, psychological, and spiritual health. And food commercials are promoting in normalization of eating unhealthy food items while sitting ideal in front of the television.
Apart from the above-mentioned problems associated with obesity in children, this problem serves an invitation to other conditions such as poor self-esteem, depression, bone and joint pain, strokes, gallbladder diseases and much more.
A preview of top fast food brands in the world:
The growth and expansion of the food and beverages industry result from rapid globalization, which means interconnection and integration between the countries. This in turn has impacted the choices, tastes, preferences, and lifestyles of individuals worldwide. Consequently, the scope for the growth of fast food brands and quick service restaurants is plenty. Fast food brands have attained a significant feat in the global food and beverages market owing to the high inclination of children and young people towards junk food. This has readily been seen as an opportunity and has been exploited well by some of the major brands in the world. Food commercials and advertisements have played a conclusive role for these brands in improving their reach in the global market. In today's world, recognition of such brands is only possible as they have spent hefty amounts on marketing and advertisements, particularly food commercials via different platforms.
Consumption of fast food can have a devastating impact on the digestive system. In many cases, high rate of consumption of fast food may lead to blockage in the small and large intestines. Despite this, there is a rise in the number of fast food and quick service restaurants at the global level. Data Bridge Market research conducted a detailed report on the global quick-service restaurants and fast food market. North America region is dominating the quick service restaurants and fast food market owing to the huge consumption of fast food and availability of different types of fast food in the region.
Brand value of the 10 most valuable fast food brands worldwide in 2021
The above image shows the brand worth of the 10 most important fast food brands overall in 2021. In that year, the brand worth of Starbucks added up to around 60.3 billion U.S. dollars. McDonald's was the most important cheap food brand on the planet, with an expected brand worth of around 154.9 billion U.S. dollars. The productivity of individual organizations relies upon proficient tasks and compelling advertising. Such big organizations have the upper hand when it comes to financing, purchasing and marketing, while small scale organizations can only be in contention by offering high grade, high quality and good taste. In spite of the 2008 downturn and the subsequent reduction in purchaser certainty across the globe, normal customer inexpensive food spending has expanded because of convenience and minimal expense. Purchasers are as yet searching for the comfort of eating out, yet are attracted to the low costs of fast-food restaurants and eateries. Some fast-food chains have promoted upon the downturn by acquainting new arrangements with their generally low-evaluated menus. McDonald's is as yet the main quick-service restaurant chain in the United States. In 2020, the organization created near to 40.5 billion U.S. dollars; around 19 billion U.S. dollars more than its nearest rival, Starbucks.
PROBLEM #1: ENCOURAGEMENT OF UNHEALTHY EATING HABITS
The food advertisements or food commercials to which the children or adolescents get exposed promote unhealthy eating and snacking habits. In many cases, lack of careful consideration by the parents might further worsen the situation for their children in the long run. The biggest example of the same is the food commercials by McCain Foods. The company, McCain Foods, promotes its frozen products via food commercials on various platforms. These products are high in calories, saturated fats and sodium which are harmful for the body. Children are drawn by these commercials and develop a habit of snacking on such food items and the problem is, they do not realize how hazardous it can be to their health. Such products are very low in their nutritional content and very high in caloric content. Youngsters are barraged with multitudinous food commercials that urge them to eat food varieties that incline them toward unhealthy eating habits. The major number of food products advertised via food commercials contain high measures of sugar, sodium, and trans and saturated fats that negatively impact the body. Food commercials are presented in such a manner that unhealthy and low-nutrition food items seem to be delicious, nutritious, hunger fulfilling and dun to consume.
Food commercials appear on a wide array of platforms, along these lines exposing children and kids' to fatty and high-sugar food varieties. These commercials or advertisements assume a big part in the process of attaining obesity since they urge kids to impact their folks into purchasing undesirable food varieties for them. In general sense, guardians are pressured into purchasing these food varieties since kids decline to eat different food sources that are better. Marketing and advertisement industry exploit the way that kids normally get everything they might want with guardians who get them anything they desire. This makes sense of why there are numerous food advertisements particularly targeting children. Many marketing and advertising organizations target populations between ages 8-12 because during that period, they are creating food habits that they carry on to the end of teenage period and perhaps adulthood. The advertisements impact kids into going with food inclinations and decisions in light of what they see in the food commercials. A recent study found that 81% of the food commercials promote food items that are rich in high amounts of calories, fats and sugars.
PROBLEM #2: UNDUE ADVANTAGE OF CHILD'S INNOCENCE
Kids and children are typically innocent and clueless concerning the impacts of eating unhealthy food items on their internal systems and overall body. Thus, marketing and advertising organizations target them in ads and commercials. Kids or children lack that intellectual and don't have the legitimate judgment to identify between healthy and unhealthy food items or to decide if the items displayed in commercials affect their wellbeing/ health/ lifestyle and prosperity. The way further deteriorates this issue that kids consume a ton of media on an everyday basis. Their folks are generally not present to manage what they observe, learn, experience, or expose themselves to. The marketing and advertising companies generally work on four major principles which are given as below:
- Indirect targeting of parents
- Outsmarting kids and children
- Advertising food items that children would generally crave for
- Spending a good budget on commercials, advertising and other marketing strategies
Visual aids is a strong force. Children learn what they see or get themselves exposed to. Therefore, they start make demands for food products that are attractive to them via food commercials. To fulfill their offspring's wishes, parents buy them all the love they need in the form of snack able food items. However, the parent should assume their role at this stage as they are smart and knowledgeable enough to know the after effects of consuming junk, fast and unhealthy food. Various research publications have archived the volume and poor quality of food varieties and drinks advertised to kids, children and young people. The food business spends more than $1.6 billion every year in their products' kid-designated promotional strategies. A normal kid in the United States sees 13 food advertisements on TV each day, and food commercials hold roughly 30% of all paid TV promotions that children generally see. Food organizations likewise target children straightforwardly on the Internet via social media channels. Nearly all food sources in food commercials directed towards children have elevated degrees of calories, trans fat, soaked fat, sugar, or sodium and are inferior to items focusing on grown-ups.
Sugar can spike in the level of blood glucose, which can lead to developing diabetes in an individual. With the rising globalization, there is a large-scale availability of sugar products in the market. According to Data Bridge Market Research, the global sugar substitutes market to account USD 35,262.34 million by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 9.0% in the forecast period of 2022-2029. The major market growth determinant is the rising awareness about the harmful impact of consuming sugar at high doses on a daily basis. Some commonly known sugar substitutes are stevia, aspartame, sorbitol, maltitol, neotame, acesulfame, and D-tagatose.
PROBLEM #3: FOOD COMMERCIALS HAVE A LONG LASTING OR EVEN PERVASIVE IMPACT
It comes no shock that certain food commercials have a long lasting impact on the mind of the viewers. Even if the commercials get discontinued, the commercial's composition, the product shown, the music played, and the characters in the commercial get imprinted on the minds. This indicates that such as other visual aids, food commercials have a huge impact on people's mind. To alleviate the obesity pandemic in children, food and beverage organizations have controlled their advertising to kids by lessening the number of food commercials promoting non-nutritious and unhealthy food products. Notwithstanding, this self-guideline has had practically zero advantages since children keep on being presented to unhealthy and non-nutritious food varieties with high sugar, fat, and sodium measures. Food advertisers focus on cartoons and anime characters to promote their food items and beverages.
A big part of the time committed to promotions is taken by food advertisements and commercials on such shows. Significant items promoted via food commercials include quick food varieties, candy, tidbits, and grains. Items like natural product juices, organic products, and vegetables get little broadcast appointment. Advertisements are at fault for this pandemic since kids or children are seldom exposed to advertisements that promote, market and advertise good food sources. Hence their food inclinations and decisions are formed by one-sided ads. The regulatory authority and the government ought to apply standard regulation and restrictions created by the Food and Drug Authority (FDA) to control food commercialization. Just food varieties that satisfy the FDA guidelines ought to be promoted, marketed and advertised. The regulatory authority ought to treat the issue in a serious way since obesity increases the expenses of medical care and has extreme wellbeing results. Elevated degrees of screen time are dangerous due to the pervasive nature of food commercials, particularly during shows that target kids. The government and the regulatory authority needs to urge advertising organizations to make commercials that support healthy food habits. It is the obligation of the government to institute regulations and laws that direct advertising.
Children should keep away from practices, such as extreme TV viewing and unhealthy dietary patterns so they can go about as good examples to their youngsters. This contention is upheld in the light that obesity ought to be centered more around adjusting the ways of life of children on the grounds that numerous treatment programs don't change the family mentalities and conditions that are contributing elements.
Other significant techniques incorporate making severe dietary regimens and empowering kids to partake in proactive tasks. Metropolitan ways of life urge youngsters to embrace inactive ways of life. Along these lines, to forestall obesity, guardians/ parents ought to zero in on changing their families' ways of life instead of diminishing the time their kids spend sitting in front of the TV.
Conclusion
Obesity in children is an unavoidable pandemic and general medical problem that influences numerous kids and children, particularly in the developed and developing economies. Many reasons have been ascribed to the rising pervasiveness of obesity in children globally. Quite possibly the most dubious explanation is food advertisements and commercials. Kids are presented to incalculable food ads on various media stages consistently. These promotions impact their food inclinations, patterns of consumption, ways of behaving, and decisions.
Food marketing and advertisement organizations target kids in light of their naivety and immature judgment as children can't separate among fiction and reality. Moreover, they can't see the goal behind the advertisements as well as the impacts of specific food items on their wellbeing/ lifestyle. Governments of various countries have set up particular measures to cut publicizing focused on or towards kids/ children to curb the same. However, the results overall have been largely ineffective so far.
Parents actually must show their kids the significance of practicing good eating habits and embracing dynamic ways of life. Guardians need to screen what their kids watch and control how much time they spend on different media stages. Then again, educators need to pay attention and dictate children the significance of eating quality food varieties such as cereals, grains, organic products, and vegetables. Food commercials ought to be prohibited on the grounds that they impact the food inclinations, decisions, and ways of behaving of kids in manners that incline them toward stoutness, laziness and obesity.
Weight loss and obesity management shouldn't be ignored at any age. From the discussion above, it is very evident what toll obesity could have on an individual's body. In this regard, Data Bridge Market research conducted a detailed report on the global weight loss and obesity management market. It was analyzed that the global weight loss and obesity management market was valued at USD 2,092.5 million in 2021 and is expected to reach USD 3,844.4 million by 2029, registering a CAGR of 7.9% during the forecast period of 2022-2029.
