Encyclopedia of Food & Culture | Advertising of Food

ADVERTISING OF FOOD. The word "advertising" is derived from the French avertissement, a giving notice or announcement. An advertisement is information that is publicly communicated through mass communication. The business of advertising is an aspect of commerce that is an integrated part of industrialized and affluent societies that can afford to purchase goods. Advertising brings notice to a wide range of consumer products, including food, a major consumer of advertising. In the United States in the 1990s, food and beverages together formed the most heavily advertised type of product: approximately 40 to 50 percent of television commercials are for food products, amounting to between ten and fifteen commercials every hour. Advertising takes place at a number of levels in the food marketing chain. Advertisements—ads in the United States and adverts in Britain—may be issued by manufacturers individually or as a group, by...