The Battle Between Consumer and Imagery

The Battle Between Consumer and Imagery

The battle in the domain of food advertisements is that between the consumers and imagery. Imagery is the key use of deception in the food industry because of its ultimate power in the field of persuasion. Whether a company wants to peddle a product with truthful or false credit, the company can use imagery to win over the consumer. It has become natural for the consumer to build trust and believe the advertisers. In the HogWine Premium Gourmet Potato Chips Ad for example, the HogWine brand uses imagery to win over the consumer. The brand is not necessarily deceiving the consumer, but the main problem is that the consumer n longer has room to choose to believe the ad or not. Imagery is a powerful weapon in food advertisements because they target a certain consumer, create a seemingly credible story around the product, and persuade the consumer to buy the product without giving the consumer the ability to make their own judgment.

The HogWine brand targets the specific demographic of the consumer that is willing to pay extra for gourmet and products and special flavor. The ad is visibly geared towards a higher-end audience because of the keywords “premium gourmet” and “natural”. The advertisement also says, “100% Natural” which adds to the idea that the product is healthier and fresher than the typical potato chips. Managing director of Gourmet ads, Benjamin Christie says, “Consumers make spending decisions with their eyes, especially when it comes to food” (Entertainment Close-Up 2013). For example, the images of natural paper-like background texture and the neutral colors of the bag contrast the bright reds and yellows that are apparent on most fast food chip products like Lays or Doritos. The brand effectively uses Christie’s logic to appeal to a certain consumer through visuals. HogWine directs the imagery towards a certain consumer by deciding the type of person that the product would attract and playing on their character.

HogWine’s ad also is impactful through the story that the brand creates to surround the product. It does not matter if the product has recently been created because the ad suggests with its old-timey background and stencil pattern that is has history. The history gives the brand credit so the consumer automatically associates the images with the fact that the brand has been creating this product for ages and is an expert in the field. By connecting with Southern food lovers on a level other than food, the brand allows the consumer to associate Southern music with the idea that the brand is also an expert in all things Southern. Since the brand knows banjo music, they must be experts in the sweet and tangy southern flavored potato chips.

The ad can be pulled apart and analyzed based on the strong imagery and text, but the consumer, who views the ad in passing, is given less time to analyze. Instead, the consumer views the ad quickly in passing, connects if they fall in the targeted demographic, and builds a relationship with the ad subconsciously or consciously. The advertisers win this battle because the consumer is helpless against a quick barrage images. In “The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception“ Horkheimer and Adorno wrote, “For the consumer there is nothing left to classify, since the classification has already been preempted by the schematism of production” (Horkheimer and Adorno 1944). The advertisers strip the consumer of their ability to agree with the product and ad because the weapon of imagery allows deception. This deception creates the natural trust that the consumer builds with advertisers.

HogWine does specialize in the southern flavorings because of their main product, barbecue sauce, but the consumer would believe the brand’s expertise regardless of the truth. The ad speaks for the brand and visually persuades the consumer to believe whether it is truth or deception.

 

Works Cited

 

Christie, Benjamin. “Gourmet Ads Publishes “the Ultimate Guide to Food Advertising Online” White Paper.” (n.d.): n. pag. Web.

Horkheimer, Max, and Theodor W. Adorno. “The Culture Industry.” In Dialectic of Enlightenment. New York: Herder and Herder, 1944.