Give us something to chew on

<p>A sexy woman picks up a large bowl of chocolate chip ice cream and </p><p>slowly begins eating. The taste delights her and she purrs. Soothing </p><p>music and a candlelit room make up the rest of the scene. A voiceover at </p><p>the end gives the brand name of the ice cream and a tagline. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>If that was your idea of a great TVC to promote a food product, burn it </p><p>and go back to the drawing board. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>That's because a major, regional survey has revealed that the average </p><p>Asian person largely distrusts food product advertising and that a </p><p>completely different approach needs to be taken to cut through the </p><p>cynicism. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Conducted by Ogilvy & Mather, the study across 21 cities in 14 countries </p><p>found that about 65 per cent of respondents said they didn't trust </p><p>advertising as a source of advice on healthy eating. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>A similar number said they even ignored the information provided in the </p><p>manufacturer's label. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>So who do they trust? More than 80 per cent pointed to their mother. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Other members of the family and friends were also up there. At almost 70 </p><p>per cent, even the government scored highly. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Contamination scandals in the pre-packaged food and drink sector around </p><p>the world - not just in Asia-Pacific - and the fact that consumers are </p><p>constantly being bombarded with countless new choices and advertising </p><p>messages on a daily basis are behind the public cynicism. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mr David Elsworth, O&M regional planning director, said, "Your mother </p><p>wouldn't give you a physics or chemistry lesson every time you saw </p><p>her. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>She wouldn't hit you with so many messages inside a 24-hour period that </p><p>it confuses you." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The study, titled 'Eating Disorders', also found that the media's </p><p>credibility had been eroded compared with five years ago. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"You would have expected women's magazines to have a higher credibility, </p><p>but according to 'Eating Disorders', less than 50 per cent of </p><p>respondents said they trusted ads in women's titles," Mr Elsworth </p><p>said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"But this isn't a surprise because as it is the news media's job to go </p><p>out there and find the news, you'll have stories like 'Eat more </p><p>potatoes' today, and 'Eat less potatoes' in six month's time, with the </p><p>resultant effect being that you are once again confusing the </p><p>market." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>He said, therefore, that the current general creative style of </p><p>advertising in the food sector - showing the product as being beneficial </p><p>in some way - was all wrong. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Reverse psychology, he stressed, was the way forward. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The survey found that people felt guilty when they ate junk food and </p><p>bored when they made more healthy choices. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"No-one seems to be completely satisfied and they aren't satisfied </p><p>because every time they make a choice, there is a trade-off involved and </p><p>that stresses them out. For every positive there is a negative," Mr </p><p>Elsworth said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"So," he asked, "why don't we overcome the feeling of guilt or boredom </p><p>by leveraging the sacrifice?" </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>He cited a number of campaigns, which illustrate how to successfully </p><p>overcome the negatives. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In the Philippines, for instance, pure water brand Viva is positioned as </p><p>a product, which is healthy for the body. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, its latest TVCs, launched just recently, showed people dancing </p><p>at a disco and an overweight man eating a hamburger and fries before </p><p>cutting to the imagery of the product and the tagline, "Wash away your </p><p>sin". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Upmarket coffee brand Left Bank created a fantasy Parisian cafe through </p><p>a series of television and print ads, which successfully sold the </p><p>product to an unsuspecting market in Taiwan. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Neither Viva nor Left Bank had the benefit of the findings of 'Eating </p><p>Disorders', however, the survey identifies key insights into how people </p><p>think about food vis-a-vis health. This type of data helps advertisers </p><p>make their ads less of a hit and miss thing," Mr Elsworth said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>It goes without saying that advertising should build up trust with a </p><p>target market, however, Mr Elsworth pointed out that food manufacturers </p><p>needed to take more care with how they translate product labelling from </p><p>English to the language of a local market. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"In the Philippines, 'healthy' means a fat man dressed in a Hawaiian </p><p>shirt, but that same word in Singapore implies someone who goes to the </p><p>gym every day." </p><p><BR><BR> </p>